A behavioral approach to substance abuse prevention in the correctional setting: A preliminary report

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a substance abuse program in a correctional institution using social skills training for secondary prevention. Forty-four male inmates with a history of substance use participated in the pilot program. Program topics included drug, alcohol, and substance abuse treatment knowledge and development of anger and stress management skills. A pretest-posttest analysis revealed significant improvement in overall knowledge of program topics and within specific areas. Areas of greatest improvement were drugs and alcohol. Clients and group leaders reported that the program was effective in facilitating attitude and behavior change regarding substance abuse. Results suggest a social competence approach to substance abuse rehabilitation in correctional institutions holds promise for both increasing knowledge and teaching effective skills to resist future substance abuse.     

High-risk situations associated with parasuicide and drug use in borderline personality disorder

Both parasuicide and drug use continue to be difficult problems to treat in borderline personality disorder (BPD). One useful approach that has not yet been applied to BPD is to develop a taxonomy of triggering situations for these problems. Once these high-risk precipitants are identified, then the behaviors can be targeted with skills training. This model has been applied by Marlatt (1996) with very influential results. To examine high-risk situations for parasuicide and drug use in BPD, the current study examined women with BPD who came to treatment for two different primary problems: parasuicide (N = 75) and drug dependence (N = 47). Participants identified the situation associated with highest risk for relapse in either the parasuicide or drug category. A taxonomy is presented, which divides results into six main categories. Differences between high-risk situations for drugs and parasuicide were also explored. Parasuicide was significantly more likely to be linked to interpersonal problems, whereas drug use was more likely to be preceded by addiction cues (i.e., being near drugs or people who use drugs).     

Social Categorization and the Influence of Drug Involvement on Drug Attitude Structures: Implications for Assessing Drug Use and Tolerance in the Workplace1

Theories of social categorization were used to generate hypotheses concerning the impact of drug involvement on the attitudes and knowledge structures that people use in making drug-related judgments. Data indicated that greater drug exposure tended to foster more complex knowledge structures for drugs and drug users as revealed by subjects’ perceptions of drug users, tolerance for drug use, and perceptions of drug seriousness. Basically, high drug involvement in terms of personal alcohol use and associating with illicit drug users was related to greater individuation of drug user types. Therefore, high-involved subjects, relative to low-involved individuals, were better able to discriminate between different drug user subtypes and drug user subtypes were more important to high-involved subjects when responding to drug-related survey items.     

Childhood Factors that Precede Drug Injection: Is there a Link?

Examination of childhood risk factors for injection drug use may provide clues as to why people progress to injection drug use and it can promote identification of at-risk youth. We surveyed current injection drug users (IDUs) and individuals who never injected drugs (non-IDUs), recruited through street outreach and snowball sampling in Denver, CO. Between March 2000 and October 2003, 601 subjects (339 IDUs and 262 non-IDUs) participated in structured interviews. We examined self-reported factors in childhood that may have been influential in whether one progressed to drug injection later in life. These indicators included age at drug and alcohol initiation, childhood risk behavior, parental monitoring, family stability, and other family problems. Differences between IDUs and non-IDUs were assessed using unadjusted tests and logistic regression. Results of the data analysis indicated that IDUs were significantly younger when they first used both alcohol and marijuana, they reported higher childhood risk behavior scores, and they had less parental monitoring and less family stability as children than non-IDUs. This research may assist clinicians in defining factors that put youth at risk for problems associated with injection drug use.     

Social competence as a developmental construct

The concept of social competence presents problems for conceptualization and assessment. At times researchers have tried to circumvent these problems by defining competence in terms of specific capacities or skills, with the consequence that the integrative potential of the concept is lost. On the other hand, more molar definitions (e.g., “effectiveness”), while being true to the integrative nature of the construct, provide little guidance for assessment. In this paper a developmental perspective on competence is presented which is congruent with a molar definition of competence while still guiding assessment efforts. In addition to this developmental viewpoint, certain practical guidelines are presented for assessment of competence across ages. These include the use of broadband assessments, which are tied to real-life adaptational problems, call for the coordination of affect, cognition, and behavior, and tax the integrative capacities of the child. Initial validation of the developmental competence construct and this approach to assessment is presented.     

Psychometric evaluation of the parent situation inventory: a role-play measure of coping in parents of substance-using adolescents

This article reports on the generalizability, reliability, and construct validity of the Parent Situation Inventory (PSI), a role-play measure of coping skills in parents experiencing problems from an adolescent's drug and alcohol use. Generalizability was robust (.80) and alternate form and test-retest reliability were satisfactory. PSI skillfulness was negatively related to the parent's own substance use and to the adolescent's alcohol use. The PSI shows promise as a reliable and potentially valid measure of coping in this population and has direct implications for developing and evaluating skill-based parent training programs.     

Alcohol-related knowledge and attitudes in people with a mild learning disability – the effects of a ‘sensible drinking’ group

Alcohol-related knowledge and attitudes in people with a mild learning disability, who were either living, or being prepared to live, in relatively independent conditions in the community, were assessed through a structured interview format. Compared with non-learning-disabled teenagers, adults and a hospitalized patient sample, alcohol-related knowledge in the people with a learning disability was found to be significantly poorer, alcohol was reported as having particularly negative effects and susceptibility to social pressure to drink alcohol was greater. A ‘sensible drinking’ group, taking a social skills and influences approach to alcohol education, was conducted with a subgroup of the individuals with a learning disability. The group format and methods, including in vivo sessions in a public house, are described. Follow-up evaluations suggested some significant positive changes in knowledge, attitudes and sensible drinking skills. It is concluded that this population, which is increasingly living, or being moved into, independent conditions in the community, is at least as vulnerable to social influences on alcohol use and abuse as are young people. As with young people, the usefulness of making available such alcohol-education programmes as described in this study, is discussed.     

An 8-year study of multiple influences on drug use and drug use consequences

Multiple long-term influences on young adult drug use and abuse were tested within an interactionist perspective using latent-variable causal models. Intrapersonal influences included early drug use and social conformity. Proximal interpersonal influences were captured by perceived peer drug use, perceived adult drug use, and family disruption. More distal influences included perceptions of community approval or disapproval for drug use. Outcome measures included not only use of drugs but also disruptive drug use (getting high at work or school) and self-admitted problems with drugs. Data were obtained from 654 participants at three equally spaced time points during an 8-year longitudinal study that began when the subjects were in junior high school. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the adequacy of the hypothesized measurement model. Subsequently, a structural equation, or path model, was used to examine the across-time relations among the latent and manifest variables. Stability effects were found for all repeatedly measured latent variables across the 4-year spans. Social conformity strongly influenced other latent variables across time. Early drug use and perceived adult drug use were prominent predictors of young adult drug use, whereas prior drug use predicted disruptive drug use and a lack of social conformity predicted problems with drug use. Early adult alcohol use predicted later disruptive drug use and problems with drug use. Perceived adult drug use generally influenced later alcohol use, whereas peer drug use influenced later cannabis and hard-drug use. Implications for prevention and treatment using a multicausal interactionist perspective are discussed.     

Bicultural identity integration (BII): components and psychosocial antecedents

The present study examines the underresearched topic of bicultural identity; specifically, we: (1) unpack the construct of Bicultural Identity Integration (BII), or the degree to which a bicultural individual perceives his/her two cultural identities as "compatible" versus "oppositional," and (2) identify the personality (Big Five) and acculturation (acculturation stress, acculturation attitudes, bicultural competence) predictors of BII. Differences in BII, acculturation stress, and bicultural competence were measured with new instruments developed for the purposes of the study. Using a sample of Chinese American biculturals, we found that variations in BII do not define a uniform phenomenon, as commonly implied in the literature, but instead encompass two separate independent constructs: perceptions of distance (vs. overlap) and perceptions of conflict (vs. harmony) between one's two cultural identities or orientations. Results also indicated that cultural conflict and cultural distance have distinct personality, acculturation, and sociodemographic antecedents.     

Reflective team in caring for people living with dementia: a base for care improvement

A reflective team (RT) is a team of professional carers who reflect on a specific caring issue under the direction of an RT leader. The goal for the reflective process is to accomplish care improvement based on research and proven experience, and the first step is to reflect upon the competence that already exists in the context in which RT takes place. This study aims to bring previous unarticulated competence in caring for people living with dementia to the surface after it has been reflected during RT sessions. Ten assistant nurses who work closely with patients who have dementia and attend RT sessions on a regular basis were interviewed about their competence for caring for people living with dementia. Using a phenomenographic analysis, two qualitatively separate categories emerged: general caring skills and dementia-specific caring skills. It was concluded that specific skills in caring for people living with dementia build in caring skills and that tacit knowledge can be explicit and be expressed when it has been reflected in RT.     

Reflective team in caring for people living with dementia: a base for care improvement

A reflective team (RT) is a team of professional carers who reflect on a specific caring issue under the direction of an RT leader. The goal for the reflective process is to accomplish care improvement based on research and proven experience, and the first step is to reflect upon the competence that already exists in the context in which RT takes place. This study aims to bring previous unarticulated competence in caring for people living with dementia to the surface after it has been reflected during RT sessions. Ten assistant nurses who work closely with patients who have dementia and attend RT sessions on a regular basis were interviewed about their competence for caring for people living with dementia. Using a phenomenographic analysis, two qualitatively separate categories emerged: general caring skills and dementia-specific caring skills. It was concluded that specific skills in caring for people living with dementia build in caring skills and that tacit knowledge can be explicit and be expressed when it has been reflected in RT.     

Counselling problem drinkers: The realm of specialists. Alcoholics Anonymous or generic counsellors?

A study was carried out to investigate counsellors' attitudes and experiences in working with people with drinking problems and counsellors' understanding of Alcoholics Anonymous as a helping agent. Ninety-four counsellors responded to a questionnaire about their work with people with drinking problems and their knowledge of AA. Generic counsellors tended not to feel competent working with clients with alcohol problems. Feelings of competence increased with greater experience of the client group and, to a lesser extent, with more hours of specialist training. It was found that counsellors whose intake of alcohol amounted to more than eight units per week were less likely to take on clients with alcohol problems than were those who drank less. Counsellors usually had some knowledge of AA but had little understanding of the 12-step programme that forms the basis of recovery for alcoholics as described by AA. They were, however, in favour of clients attending AA as an adjunct to individual counselling     

Behavioral Correlates of Self-Appraised Problem-Solving Ability: Problem-Solving Skills and Health-Compromising Behaviors

According to the revised social problem-solving model, problem solving skills should be associated with cognitive and behavioral attempts to solve or prevent personal problems. We reasoned that the Approach-Avoidance scale on the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI; Heppner, 1988) measures problem-solving skills as defined in the model, and predicted that scores on this factor would be predictive of health-compromising behaviors among 96 undergraduate students. An aspect of the problem-orientation component would be predictive of global health perceptions. Ineffective problem-solving skills were associated with greater alcohol intake over a 2-week period, and with more sedentary leisure behavior on retrospective and prospective measures. Perceived control over emotions was predictive of health perceptions, as hypothesized. However, elements of problem solving were unrelated to tobacco use, illicit drug use, and exercise behaviors.     

Emergence and composition of the traditional-modern bicultural self of people in contemporary Taiwanese societies

In the present paper, a preliminary statement on the traditional-modern bicultural self in contemporary Taiwan was proposed and our presentation was organized in four parts. First, a theoretical and conceptual analysis was attempted to describe the emergence and composition of the traditional-modern bicultural self of the contemporary Taiwanese people. The cultural and social roots of such a bicultural self were explored, and its constituting elements delineated and their interrelations analyzed. Second, relevant empirical evidence pertaining to this particular model of the Chinese bicultural self was reviewed. Third, our present model was related and compared against various existing bicultural self models. Finally, directions and issues for future research on the Chinese bicultural self were discussed.     

Psychological predictors of young adults' drinking behaviors

Path analyses using data from 72 men and 78 women between 22 and 32 years of age compared two models linking personality (conflict resolution styles, intimacy maturity, and occupational identity status) and social roles (family and work status) to young adults' alcohol use. Poor conflict resolution skills and less adult work statuses best accounted for men's excessive drinking, and problems with intimacy best accounted for women's use of alcohol to alleviate emotional distress. In addition, poor conflict resolution skills partly mediated the effects of parent's drinking on son's alcohol consumption. Occupational identity status and intimacy maturity correlated with men's use of drugs rather than men's alcohol use.     

儿童情绪胜任力的研究进展：概念、功能与干预措施

儿童情绪胜任力是指儿童拥有情绪知识,对自身和他人的情绪进行识别和理解,并调节和表达自身情绪的一种综合能力,它在提高儿童的认知能力、促进其身心健康发展、提高社会交往能力以及减少儿童危险行为等方面都有重要作用。研究者开展了以儿童情绪和行为问题改善、压力应对能力提高及情绪识别和管理能力提升为目标的干预项目。未来可进一步探究学校、老师、同伴及儿童自身的人格特点等对其情绪胜任力发展的影响及作用机制,并可从增加个性化干预及提升干预长期效果等视角进一步完善干预措施。     

Links between mothers' and children's social competence and associations with maternal adjustment.

Extended previous research on family factors related to children's social competence by examining links between 3 domains of maternal social competence (social skills, social frames, network size) and 3 domains of children's social competence (social skills, peer-rated social preference, and network size) in a sample of 78 mothers and their kindergarten children (42 girls, 36 boys). The mediational role of maternal social competence in the association between mothers' depression and interpersonal sensitivity symptoms and children's social competence was also tested. Results supported associations between all 3 domains of mothers' and children's social competence, with maternal social skills the most frequent predictor of children's social competence. Gender differences suggested that maternal social competence was more strongly related to sons' peer acceptance and daughters' social skills. A mediational model received preliminary support for girls, with maternal psychological symptoms related to girls' social competence via maternal social skills. Implications include the need for continued study of maternal social competence as a family factor related to children's peer functioning and the development of family-based interventions for young children experiencing peer problems.     

Alcohol drinking parties and consumption of alcohol and other drugs in youth

The main aim of this paper is to analyze the relationships of involvement in the "botellon" (meetings of youth in public places to drink, chat, etc.) with alcohol/other drug abuse and vandalism in young people. A school survey was performed in centres of Compulsory Secondary School (E.S.O.), high school, professional training and University education in Lugo, NW Spain. The sample (aged 12 to 30) was split into three groups according to alcohol use and botellon involvement; drug abuse, drug-related problems and vandalism were assessed in each group. Results indicate that regular botellon attendants display more problems with alcohol and other drugs, as well as higher involvement in vandalism; this relationship is stronger among young students. The increase in adolescent risk associated with the practice of the botellon is explained by peer group pressure to use drugs and the greater accessibility of alcohol/other drugs in these contexts.     

Multicultural minds. A dynamic constructivist approach to culture and cognition

The authors present a new approach to culture and cognition, which focuses on the dynamics through which specific pieces of cultural knowledge (implicit theories) become operative in guiding the construction of meaning from a stimulus. Whether a construct comes to the fore in a perceiver's mind depends on the extent to which the construct is highly accessible (because of recent exposure). In a series of cognitive priming experiments, the authors simulated the experience of bicultural individuals (people who have internalized two cultures) of switching between different cultural frames in response to culturally laden symbols. The authors discuss how this dynamic, constructivist approach illuminates (a) when cultural constructs are potent drivers of behavior and (b) how bicultural individuals may control the cognitive effects of culture.