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This study examines predictors of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) among an urban American Indian cohort who were followed from approximately age 11 to age 20. Approximately 27% of the sample had a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence. The results indicated that externalizing, but not internalizing, behaviors, family conflict, and school liking served as significant predictors of an AUD. Neither having an alcoholic mother nor an alcoholic father was found to be significantly predictive of an alcohol use disorder at ages 19 and 20. Finally, early alcohol initiation was a substantial predictor of an AUD and acted as a partial mediator.

The present study examined costs of two residential substance abuse treatment programs designed for urban American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). Costs for one agency were well within national norms, while costs at the other program were less than expected from nationwide data. Economies of scale accounted for much of the difference between observed and expected costs. Culturally specific residential substance abuse treatment services can be provided to urban AI/ANs within budgets typically found at mainstream programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the role of parental diagnosis of alcohol abuse/dependence and perceived family norms for adolescent drinking on alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among urban American Indian youth. A total of 251 urban, American Indian youth and their parents/caregivers were followed from ages 13 to 18. Perceived family norms against alcohol decreased and alcohol use increased from ages 13 to 18. Relative to no parental diagnosis, youth with one or two parents diagnosed with alcohol abuse/dependence were less likely to perceive family norms against alcohol use. Youth with two parents diagnosed were more likely to report alcohol-related problems at age 18 compared to no parental diagnosis. Faster rates of decrease in perceived family norms against alcohol use were associated with faster increases in alcohol use over time. Higher rates of perceived family norms against alcohol use protected youth from high rates of use at age 13, but higher rates of alcohol use at age 13 predicted more alcohol-related problems at age 18. These results suggest that both family history and family behaviors in the form of communication of norms for adolescent alcohol use are likely to impact both rates of use and eventual alcohol-related problems. (Am J Addict 2011;00: 1-8) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses data collected over 8 time periods to examine time-varying and time-invariant predictors of alcohol initiation among urban American Indian youth, an understudied population. Similar socialization risk and protective factors were found to be related to initiation as other American youth. However, a nuclear family was not found to be protective against initiating alcohol use and living with a father only and having an alcoholic father significantly increased initiation odds. In general, these urban Indian youth are much like other American youth in their initiation of alcohol use, although they may initiate alcohol use at slightly lower rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which investigated the effectiveness of an intensive case management intervention with a group of homeless chronic public inebriate clients. Efforts to reduce use of alcohol and improve the financial and residential stability of the clients; Examination of the results of the study.

Aims. To assess the prevalence of inhalant use among urban American Indian youth and to examine differences between inhalant users and non-users. Design. Baseline (T1) self-report questionnaires completed in 5th-6th grade and at seven annual follow-up assessments (T2-T8). Settings. Seattle metropolitan area. Participants. Two hundred and twenty-four Indian youth. Measurements. Youth-completed measures of substance use, ethnic self-identity, involvement in traditional Indian activities, family conflict, family history of alcoholism, peer and sibling deviance, self-esteem, delinquency, aggression, anxiety, depression, sensation seeking, conduct disorder and alcohol dependence. Findings. Lifetime inhalant use was reported by 12.3% of adolescents. At T1, inhalant users had significantly lower perceived self-worth and average annual household incomes and significantly greater density of familial alcoholism and expression of aggressive and delinquent conduct than non-users. Aggressive behavior was the most important T1 predictor of inhalant use. Lifetime conduct and alcohol dependence disorders were 3.3 and 2.6 times more prevalent among inhalant users than non-users at T5. Inhalant users had more extensive deviant peer networks, were more sensation-seeking, and evidenced lower perceived self-worth than non-users at T8. Conclusions. Inhalant use was less prevalent in this particular sample of urban Indian adolescents than in most studies of reservation Indian youth. As with other studies of inhalant abuse, aggressive and delinquent males of low SES and low-perceived self-worth with family histories of alcohol dependence, were at highest risk for inhalant use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which examined the effects of a smoking cessation program for recovering alcoholics on use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs after discharge form residential treatment. Information on the randomized community intervention trail design employed in this study; How the study sites and research participants were selected; Components of the smoking cessation intervention; Analysis of data collects; Results of this study.

Investigated the potential utility and validity of a measure of subjective helplessness, the H25. Helplessness is defined as the degree to which the individual perceives him/herself to be unable to influence or control the initiation and outcome of a variety of potentially reinforcing activities. Alcoholic subjects were classified into three levels of self-reported helplessness. An initial multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the groups differed with respect to severity level across a number of dimensions of depressive symptomatology, with the High Helplessness group appearing significantly more depressed on each of the measures than Low Helplessness subjects. Subsequent analyses supported the construct validity of the H25. Those measures found to be most descriminating between groups and most predictive of the level of helplessness reflected a dimension of behavioral retardation consistent with the motivational deficits noted in the learned helplessness model. Recommendations for the future validation of individual difference measures of helplessness are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the prevention of substance abuse among American Indian and Alaska Native youth offers challenges and demands careful methods. This paper describes such challenges in terms of philosophical, political, and cultural issues surmundiig substance abuse prevention research with American Indian and Alaska Native people. The authors suggest how social work researchers can address these issues through strategies of community 'collaboration, goal sening, and cultural sensitivity. The paper discusses the limits, implications, and future applications of the described strategies for research on the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse among American Indian and Alaska Native youth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article focuses on application of discriminate analysis to level of performance of alcoholics and nonalcoholics on Wechsler-Bellevue and Halstead-Reitan subtests. A number of authors have compared the performance of alcoholic and nonalcoholic Ss on measures of general intelligence and cognitive impairment. The measures frequently used in such studies have included the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and tests derived from the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery.

The authors studied the response to sodium lactate infusion of 12 alcoholics with a history of panic attacks, 10 alcoholics without a history of panic attacks, and 16 nonalcoholic patients with panic disorder. The rate of lactate-induced panic was significantly higher in alcoholics with panic attacks than in alcoholics without panic attacks. Alcoholics with panic attacks were similar to nonalcoholic patients with panic disorder in their response to lactate. These findings support the specificity of lactate-induced panic for panic states and suggest that panic attacks in alcoholics resemble those in nonalcoholics. Lactate infusion may prove useful in the diagnosis of panic disorder in alcoholics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol exerts several of its actions via the chloride channel associated with the central GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complex. To explore possible role for this receptor complex in risk for alcoholism, and to determine whether risk for alcoholism is associated with risk for benzodiazepine abuse, the authors administered intravenous diazepam to 18 sons of male alcoholics (SOAs) and 18 control subjects. Four logarithmically increasing doses of diazepam and matched volumes of placebo were given in randomized order on separate days about 1 week apart. SOAs were significantly more likely than controls to report euphoric responses to diazepam. At some diazepam doses, SOAs were more likely to report feeling 'high' and 'intoxicated.' SOAs and controls did not differ in feeling 'drugged.' SOAs and controls may differ in expectations regarding the subjective effects of drugs and/or in the function of the central GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complex. These findings also add further evidence for increased pleasurable effects, and thus possibly increased risk for benzodiazepine abuse, in subgroup of SOAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate a number of factors that may influence the relationship between neuropsychological impairment and treatment outcome among alcoholics. Cognitive deficit upon admission to treatment was significantly related to the individual's age but independent of the years of problem drinking and the recency of the last drink prior to assessment. Significant improvement was noted on measures of neuropsychological function over the period from treatment admission to 6-month follow-up assessment On the average, improvement in functioning occurred across time despite drinking relapses during the intervening period. The individual's age, but not years of problem drinking, was associated with recovery of function; neither of these variables interacted with subsequent drinking status to affect differentially the changes in cognitive functioning. Finally, selected measures of neuropsychological function assessed both at admission and 6-month follow-up were reliably related to follow-up employment status but unrelated to the average amount of alcohol consumed per day and to the number of heavy drinking days during the 3-month period between the 6- and 9-month foltow-ups. The results are discussed in terms of the need for determining the utility of neuropsychological measures in predicting everyday functioning among alcoholics and for selecting domains of assessment other than cognitive status to predict treatment outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the activities of the committees of the Council on Advocacy and Public Policy. It comprises the council and the Committees on Advocacy and Litigation Funding, Government Relations, and Public Affairs. The council has the mission to assist coordination of the public policy advocacy of American Psychiatric Association (APA) comprising the federal and state legislative and regulatory matters, litigation, and the advocacy aspects of APA public affairs. In 2007's legislative session, the mental health needs of veterans and armed services personnel predominated.

The article presents the summary of the activities of the Council on Advocacy and Public Policy of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), presented at the meeting on September 14-17, 2006 in Washington D.C. The Council facilitates coordination of APA's public policy and advocacy such as federal and state legislative and regulatory matters and advises the Board of Trustees on pressing public policy advocacy matters. Other significant information relative to the matter is presented.

Alcoholism has been associated with a high prevalence of anxiety and phobic disorders. The authors ascertained the current prevalence of panic disorder and the lifetime prevalence of in frequent panic attacks in 154 male alcoholics in an inpatient alcohol treatment program. Thirteen percent (N=20) gave a lifetime history of panic attacks and 45% (N=9) of these had current panic disorder. Panic attacks preceded or coincided with the onset of problem drinking in 50% (N=9) of the 18 patients with both diagnoses. Only two patients with histories of panic had been previously diagnosed, and none had been treated. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a contemporary sampling of indigenous community healing strategies and a review of their role in community resurgence and well-being. Participants will learn about treatment and research methods that tap indigenous community strengths and how these interventions can elevate clinical practice with diverse communities in a substantial way. [Extracted from the article]