School Contextual Influences on the Risk for Adolescent Alcohol Misuse

This study investigates the association between school context and adolescent alcohol misuse. Data are from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 10,574 adolescents nested within 128 schools). Multilevel multinomial logistic regression is used to assess the association between school-level characteristics and the risk for non-, moderate, and heavy drinking. The risk for adolescent alcohol misuse varies significantly across schools after adjusting for adolescent-level predictors. Several school-level characteristics predict alcohol misuse. Notably, the risk for heavy drinking is elevated in schools located in communities that are socioeconomically advantaged, have high proportions of Non-Hispanic White residents, and are located in suburban (versus urban) areas. High aggregate levels of intoxication in schools increases the risk for heavy drinking among individual adolescents. Results suggest that the influence of social contexts on health is not uniform and that adolescent drinking is more likely in communities that are conceptualized as advantaged.     

Regression I. Experimental approaches to regression

The concept of regression is considered with an emphasis on the differences between the positions of Freud and Jung regarding its significance. The paper discusses the results of experimental analyses of individual experience dynamics (from gene expression changes and impulse neuronal activity in animals to prosocial behaviour in healthy humans at different ages, and humans in chronic pain) in those situations where regression occurs: stress, disease, learning, highly emotional states and alcohol intoxication. Common mechanisms of regression in all these situations are proposed. The mechanisms of regression can be described as reversible dedifferentiation, which is understood as a relative increase of the representation of low-differentiated (older) systems in the actualized experience. In all of the cases of dedifferentiation mentioned above, the complexity of the systemic organization of behaviour significantly decreases.     

Human physical aggression as a function of alcohol and threat of harm

The present study investigated the effect of threat of physical harm on the aggressive behavior of intoxicated and nonintoxicated subjects. Forty male undergraduates competed in a reaction time task in which they could deliver shock to an increasingly provocative opponent. In the threat condition, subjects could be hurt by the opponent (they wore a shock electrode), while in the no-threat condition, they could not be hurt by the opponent (the electrode was removed prior to the competition). The results indicated that under conditions of low provocation, the intoxicated subjects behaved more aggressively than the nonintoxicated subjects in both the threatening and nonthreatening condition. However, under conditions of increasing provocation, only the intoxicated subjects in the threatening condition increased their shock settings.     

Alcohol and aggression: A replication study controlling for potential confounding variables

An experiment tested whether the Taylor reaction time paradigm generates a valid measure of aggression when used in alcohol research and when identified confounding influences are controlled. The Alcohol group drank 1.2 ml of 100% alcohel/kg body weight and was compared with a Control group drinking the equivalent amount of tonic. Subjects were tested in an exact replica of Taylor's paradigm. Results indicated that intoxicated subjects were more aggressive both when provoked and when not provoked, which was interpreted as supportive of the validity of this procedure. Discussion was concentrated on the role of dose level and number of and form of available alternatives to behave in the test situation.     

Hormonal,anthropometrical, and behavioral correlates of physical aggression in !Kung San men of Namibia

Differences in physical aggression among 114 male !Kung San (bushmen) from Namibia were investigated with regard to sex hormone levels, body dimensions, consumption of alcohol, and degree of acculturation. Subjects were classified from injuries resulting from prior conflicts with mutual physical aggression between the opponents as either violent or nonviolent. The comparison of mean sex hormone values (total serum testosterone, T_ser; serum 5α-dihydrotestosterone, DHT; serum estradiol 17β, E₂; “free,” non-SHBG-bound salivary testosterone, T_sal) and hormone ratios (T_sal/T_ser; DHT/T_ser) did not yield any significant differences between the violent and nonviolent group. However, correlation coefficients of sex hormone levels with the frequency of violent behavior within the group of physically aggressive San men were significantly positive for DHT, T_sal, and T_sal/T_ser (P < .05) while T_ser, E₂, and DHT/T_ser showed only weak positive correlations. Moreover, the violent men exhibit higher mean values in certain measures of physical robustness which may point to a possible pathway of indirect androgen action on human aggression. When the probands were classified according to their drinking habits, usually abstinent men had shown significantly less violent behavior in the past than men who habitually consume alcohol.     

Serum testosterone,cortisol, glucose,and ethanol in males arrested for spouse abuse

Concentrations of ethanol, testosterone, cortisol, and glucose were determined in serum obtained from 16 males taken into police custody after incidents of spouse abuse. The mean blood ethanol level at the time of arrest was 33.3 ± 2.6 mM. Serum testosterone levels were significantly lower and cortisol levels higher at the time of police intervention (within 1 hour of the incident) compared to control data collected later from the subjects when sober. Offenders did not differ from a group of nonviolent pub patrons at similar blood ethanol levels (35.9 ± 4.5 mM) with respect to serum testosterone, cortisol, or glucose, but their sober state cortisol and glucose concentrations were significantly higher compared to a control group of nonalcoholic men. Intoxication or acute hormonal changes were thus not specifically associated with violent behaviour. Provocative cues, however, may have been more frequent in the offender families, as Straus Conflict Tactics data showed that offenders and victims resorted to verbal aggression significantly more often than control families. The significantly elevated cortisol and glucose concentrations in offenders when sober compared to nonviolent controls could be viewed as direct effects of life stress, or as indirect effects of stress mediated by learned escape drinking. Excessive drinking as well as spouse abuse could be maladaptive coping strategies that principally serve to maintain the status quo, physiologically as well as psychologically. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Parental Predictors of Adolescent Alcohol Use and Alcohol‐Related Consequences

This study examined parental predictors of alcohol use and alcohol‐related consequences among 9th‐grade students (N = 296). Parental disapproval of teen drinking and quality of parent–child general communication were significant predictors of drinking behaviors. Implications for counselors are discussed.     

Interviewing intoxicated witnesses: Memory performance in theory and practice

Memory encoding and recall involving complex, effortful cognitive processes are impaired by alcohol primarily due to impairment of a select few, but crucial, cortical areas. This review shows how alcohol affects some, but not all, aspects of eyewitnesses' oral free recall performance. The principal results, so far, are that: a) free recall reports by intoxicated witnesses (at the investigated BAC‐levels) may contain less, but as accurate, information as reports by sober witnesses; b) immediate reports given by intoxicated witnesses may yield more information compared to reports by sober witnesses given after a one week delay; c) an immediate interview may enhance both intoxicated and sober witnesses' ability to report information in a later interview; and d) reminiscence seems to occur over repeated interviews and the new information seems to be as accurate as the previously reported information. Based on this, recommendations are given for future research to enhance understanding of the multifaceted impact of alcohol on witnesses' oral free recall of violent crimes.     

Voucher-based reinforcement for alcohol abstinence using the ethyl-glucuronide alcohol biomarker

This study assessed the effects of a contingency management (CM) intervention for alcohol consumption in 10 alcohol-dependent participants. An ABCA design was used. Vouchers were provided contingent on results of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) urine tests (an alcohol biomarker with a 2-day detection period) and alcohol breath tests during the C phase. The percentage of negative urines was 35% during the first baseline phase, 69% during the C phase, and 20% during the return-to-baseline phase. Results suggest that EtG urine tests may be a feasible method to deliver CM to promote alcohol abstinence.     

Accentuating the positive: The gendered identities of male problem‐drinkers,and the questions these pose for the counselling profession

Background: Few published studies have addressed the male experience of alcohol dependency. Aim: This paper seeks to address this deficiency and to highlight aspects of the male experience relevant to the counselling and psychotherapy profession. Methods: Six men in recovery from alcohol dependency participated in semi‐structured interviews. Findings: A grounded theory analysis elicited five core categories, Beginning to Drink, Paying for Gain with Pain, Reaching Rock Bottom, Struggling to Recover and Leading a New Life. Despite the pain they had experienced, participants' narratives were matter‐of‐fact and goal‐oriented. Low self‐esteem was expressed indirectly. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with socialisation models of alcoholism. Counsellors, and the wider profession, must be alert for the male under‐reporting of emotional distress.