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The project aimed to assess stigmatized attitudes among health professionals directed towards patients with mental health problems. The Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire was used to assess participants' attitudes towards fictitious patients from a secure forensic hospital and patients with schizophrenia and substance use disorders. Participants were health professionals from acute and mental health settings. In total, 108 completed questionnaires were received. Participants had highly stigmatized attitudes towards patients from a forensic hospital and those with active substance use disorders. Attitudes were less stigmatized to people with substance use disorders who were recovering in remission. This suggested that health professionals have stigmatized attitudes towards an illness such as schizophrenia and this is worse towards patients from a secure hospital. The manner in which patients with substance use disorder are presented can have a significant effect on stigmatized attitudes by health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been increasing concern in England regarding the neglect of alcohol treatment in favour of treatment for illicit drug users (especially offenders). The project sought to obtain the views of addiction professionals in specialist NHS services in England regarding recent changes to service provision. Postal survey questionnaires were sent to the duty worker at 120 Community Drug and Alcohol Teams in the England. Responses were received from 180 participants representing at least one clinician at 87 of the teams. Respondents had 1660 years of experience in substance misuse treatment. Only 11% felt that alcohol treatment services had improved over the last few years and 53% agreed that 'Government targets for treatment of illicit drug users has had a disastrous effect on the provision of alcohol treatment services'. The enhanced treatment for offenders was widely regarded as unfair to other service users. Half of respondents considered that the recent Government Alcohol Strategy was either 'pathetic' or 'a recipe for ineffectiveness.' Despite the limited number of self-selecting participants, the opinions are clearly cause for concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To retrospectively identify differences in antisocial and delinquent behavior between siblings discordant for serious substance use disorders. Background: Research has suggested that people who develop serious substance use disorders have delinquent traits as children prior to using any illicit drugs. Method: A retrospective survey was conducted of 50 pairs of adult siblings who were discordant for serious substance use disorders. The self-report early delinquency scale (SRED) was used to retrospectively assess delinquent traits in childhood and adolescence. Results: The mean SRED 29 (illegal item) score in treatment seeking opiate dependent people (mean age= 33.5 years) was 19.6 (SE=0.9) compared to 4.8 (SE=0.6) in same sex, non-substance dependent siblings (p< 0.0001; paired Wilcoxon test). The mean SRED 58 (norm violation) score in treatment seeking opiate dependent people was 36.8 (SE=1.7) compared to 10.5 (SE=1.4) in same sex siblings (p< 0.0001; paired Wilcoxon test). 40% of patients were expelled from school compared to 12% of siblings (Yates-corrected Chi2 = 8.78; p = 0.003). 96% of patients reported problems with the police as adolescence compared to 48% of controls (Yates-corrected Chi2 = 26.24; p < 0.0001). Police problems in substance users pre-dated first use of illicit substances by 5.5 years. Conclusion: The study used a validated instrument and objective reports to confirm significantly higher rates of delinquent behavior and social dysfunction in childhood for substance users compared to non-substance dependent siblings. The delinquent behaviors usually predated serious substance misuse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]