First use and initiation of regular alcohol use has been frequently found to start in adolescence. However, only few studies have also investigated how many adolescents proceed during ages 14–24 to harmful drinking or even develop alcohol use disorders. This paper – using the EDSP baseline sample of 3,021 community respondents from the Munich area – examines the prevalence of use, abuse and dependence and investigates the dose/disorder relationship. Alcohol abuse was reported by 9.7% of respondents and alcohol dependence by 6.2%. Men were more likely to report an alcohol disorder than women, prevalence also increased in the older age cohorts. However, even among 14- to 17-year-olds a substantial proportion of respondents report high and regular consumption rates, the occurrence of abuse and dependence criteria and even a full dependence syndrome. There is however only a moderate association between average number of standard drinks consumed with the risk of developing abuse and dependence. In light of the substantial rates among adolescents and young adults the validity of DSM-IV alcohol disorder criteria is discussed.

Alkoholkonsum beginnt häufig bereits im Jugendalter. Allerdings fehlen bisher Erkenntnisse darüber, ob, wie häufig und aufgrund welcher Merkmale Jugendlichen und junge Erwachsene auch bereits klinisch definierte Mißbrauchs- und Abhängigkeitsdiagnosen entwickeln. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Untersuchung an 3021 Jugendlichen im Alter von 14-24 Jahren vorgestellt. Neben der Prävalenz von Alkoholmißbrauch und -abhängigkeit nach DSM-IV werden Daten zur Häufigkeit und Menge des Alkoholkonsums berichtet sowie erste Symptome beschrieben. 9,7% der befragten Jugendlichen erhielten aufgrund von DSM-IV-Kriterien eine Mißbrauchsdiagnose, 6,2% eine Abhängigkeitsdiagnose. Bei männlichen Jugendlichen war die Prävalenz wesentlich höher als bei weiblichen. Die Prävalenz war in den älteren Geburtskohorten höher. Als erstes Missbrauchssymptom trat am häufigsten "Gebrauch mit körperlicher Gefährdung" (91,9%), als erstes Abhängigkeitssymptom "Toleranzentwicklung" (34,3%) auf. Erste diagnostische Kriterien einer Alkoholstörung traten zumeist deutlich vor dem 18. Lebensjahr auf. Diese Daten unterstreichen, daß Alkoholmißbrauch und -abhängigkeit bereits im Jugend- und frühen Erwachsenenalter häufig sind. / Alcohol use frequently begins in adolescence. However, only few studies have reported the prevalence of alcohol abuse disorders in adolescents. This paper reports results from a representative study in a sample of 3021 adolescents, aged 14-24 years. The Prevalence of alcohol abuse and dependence according to DSM-IV criteria, as well as the prevalence, frequency and quantity of alcohol abuse and a description of the first occuring symptoms, are presented here. Alcohol abuse was reported by 9.7% of respondents and alcohol dependence by 6.2%. Males were more likely to report an alcohol disorder than females, and the prevalence also increased in the older age cohorts. The most frequent initial symptoms were "hazardous use" (91.9%) for abuse and "tolerance" (34.3%) for dependence. First symptoms have been shown to occur long before the age of 18. These results show that even in adolescents and young adults alcohol abuse and dependence are frequent disorders.

Syftet med studien var att finna vilka uppfattningar yrkesverksamma inom socialt arbete har om barns situation i familjer med alkoholmissbruksproblematik. Vi ville även belysa deras uppfattningar kring deras eget arbete med familjerna. Studien byggdes upp via en fenomenografisk ansats med socialkonstruktivismen som teoretisk grund. Fenomenografin fokuserar på vad ett fenomen uppfattas vara istället för vad fenomenet är. En uppfattning är enligt fenomenografin någonting som sällan är en företeelse för reflektion utan snarare något som finns i det undermedvetna. Empirin insamlades genom nio stycken kvalitativt utformade, semistrukturerade intervjuer med yrkesverksamma som i olika verksamheter möter dessa barn och familjer. Vi träffade en diakon, en familjebehandlare inom Socialtjänsten, en fältassistent, två skolkuratorer och fyra personer som på olika sätt arbetar behandlande med föräldrar och barn i familjer med missbruksproblematik. Analysen av den insamlade empirin visade att uppfattningarna i huvudsak fokuserade kring vad barnets bästa är i dessa familjer, föräldrarnas förmåga samt de svårigheter som de yrkesverksamma upplevde i arbetet med familjerna. Uppfattningar som framfördes gällde bland annat att det är av stor vikt att barnet får dela med sig av sina erfarenheter, att föräldrar som missbrukar alkohol vill sina barn väl men brister i förmågan att tillgodose deras behov samt att svårigheter framförallt uppkommer för både barnen och i arbetet med familjerna då  föräldrarna förnekar sitt missbruk.

BAKGRUND: Alkoholkonsumtionen i Sverige har stigit sedan 1900-talet. En förhöjd alkoholkonsumtion kan leda till både fysiska och psykiska skador. Sjuksköterskor möter dagligen patienter med alkoholmissbruk och denna patientkategori kan ha svårigheter att själva erkänna alkoholproblemen. SYFTE: Syftet med denna studie var att belysa sjuksköterskors upplevelser av att vårda patienter med alkoholmissbruk. METOD: En litteraturöversikt, datamaterialet bestod av tio vetenskapliga artiklar varav fem kvalitativa och fem kvantitativa. RESULTAT: Tre huvudteman och ett undertema identifierades vid analysen; vårdrelationen, rädslan för negativa patientreaktioner, sjuksköterskans kunskap och sjuksköterskans syn på alkoholförebyggande arbete. I resultatet framkom att sjuksköterskor har bristande kunskap om alkoholrelaterad omvårdnad vilket leder till en osäkerhet och resulterade i att alkoholförebyggande arbete undveks eller blev lågprioriterat. Ökad utbildning i alkoholrådgivning och alkoholrelaterad omvårdnad kunde öka sjuksköterskornas delaktighet i alkoholinterventioner. För att vårda en patient med alkoholmissbruk var en god relation till patienten betydande, det var också en förutsättning för att kunna samtala om alkohol. KONKLUSION: Författarens konklusion är att sjuksköterskor har svårigheter med att vårda denna patientkategori. Sjuksköterskors osäkerhet, förhållningssätt och bristande kunskap om alkoholrelaterad omvårdnad medför att patienter med alkoholproblem inte får den omvårdnad de är i behov av. Detta kan elimineras genom ökad utbildning och kunskap om alkoholrelaterad omvårdnad. / BACKGROUND: The alcohol consumption has increased since the 1900th century. A increased alcohol consumption can lead to physical and mental damages. Nurses meet patients that abuse alcohol on daily bases and this patient category can have difficulties to admit the problem. AIM: The aim of this study was to describe nurses experience of caring for patients with alcohol abuse problems. METHOD: A literature review, the data consisted of ten scientific papers of which five were qualitative and five quantitative. RESULT: Three categories and one subcategory was identified; the caring relationship, fear of negative patient reactions, nurses knowledge and the nurses view of alcohol preventive work. The result shows that nurses lack knowledge about alcohol related care witch created a insecurity leading to this being a low priority. Better education could increase their participation in alcohol interventions. A good patient relationship was important and a condition for talking about alcohol. CONCLUSION: The author draw the conclusion that nurses have difficulties caring for this patient category. The nurses attitude, insecurity and lack of knowledge about alcohol related care result in a care not fulfilling the needs of this patient category. The problem can be solved by increased knowledge about alcohol related care.

Ett lågtröskelboende vänder sig till individer med missbruks- och boendeproblematik där intentionen är att erbjuda individen stöd i dennes alkoholproblematik samt en trygghet i boendet utan att ställa krav på nykterhet. Studiens syfte var att undersöka fenomenet: upplevelsen av att bo på ett lågtröskelboende utifrån ett brukarperspektiv, samt vad flytten till lågtröskelboendet har inneburit för de boendes livskvalitet. I analysen användes ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv med livsvärldsteorin som utgångspunkt. Resultatet visar studiens fenomen som existentiell samhörighet i alkoholmissbruk. Den delade alkohol- och boendeproblematiken gör att de boende upplever sig som jämlika med varandra, vilket också skapar en känsla av gemenskap och tillhörighet. Studien visar att alkoholkonsumtion, trots acceptans av alkoholbruk inom boendet, upplevs av de boende som om den minskar. Resultatet har betydelse för hur lågtröskelboenden kan utvecklas för att göra en än bättre anpassning till de boendes behov. / A low-threshold-home is a home for individuals that are struggling with alcohol addiction problems and finding it hard to find a place to stay. The intention of the home is to offer the residents support in their struggle with alcohol, and a safe place to stay, without putting pressure on the person to stay sober. The purpose of the study was to see how the individuals are coping with living at the low-threshold home and still struggling their addiction, and how the move there has changed their quality of life. A phenomenological perspective of theory of life has been used in the analysis and the results show an existential connection between the men in their alcohol-addiction. Because of their shared alcohol- and accommodation problems with addiction, the individuals feel a unity between them that creates understanding. The study shows by experiences by the residents that the acceptance of alcohol within this low-threshold-home in many cases leads to less consumption of alcohol. That is important and useful when trying to improve these low-threshold-homes even more in the future for the individuals living there.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-106).

This study is qualitative and aims to describe and analyze how senior citizens with alcohol- related problems are recognized by social workers within local care for the elderly. The empirical material consists of eleven semi-structured interviews which was completed with the help of social workers within local elderly care. The findings of the study shows that the processing of the senior citizens alcohol related problem can be explained as an identified “awareness process.” Further, the findings of the study shows that awareness is often made by others than the social workers themselves. The study has also showed that known versus unknown information about present alcohol-related problems, tends to be crucial for when and how awareness is made in the “awareness process”. / Studien är kvalitativ och syftar till att beskriva och analysera hur äldre personer med problematiskt förhållande till alkohol uppmärksammas av biståndshandläggare inom kommunal äldreomsorg. Det empiriska materialet består av elva halvstrukturerade intervjuer och genomfördes med biståndshandläggare inom den kommunala äldreomsorgen. Studiens resultat visar att handläggningen av den äldre personens alkoholproblematik kan förklaras som en identifierad uppmärksammandeprocess. Vidare visar resultatet att uppmärksammandet oftast sker via andra personer än biståndshandläggaren själv. Studien har även visat att känd respektive okänd information om föreliggande alkoholproblematik, tenderar att vara avgörande för när och hur uppmärksammandet sker i uppmärksammandeprocessen.

Forskning visar att personliga assistenter är en yrkesgrupp som ofta har en bristande psykosocial arbetsmiljö på grund av att assistenterna många gånger arbetar ensamma hos kunden, har brist på tydliga riktlinjer från ledningen samt otillräckligt socialt stöd. Detta i kombination med kunders alkoholmissbruk och deras självbestämmanderätt kan ytterligare skapa utsatthet och etiska dilemman hos assistenterna. Syftet med vår studie var att undersöka hur personliga assistenter beskriver att deras psykosociala arbetsmiljö påverkas av kundens alkoholmissbruk. Vidare var det av vikt att belysa kundens självbestämmanderätt och assistenternas egna gränsdragningar i denna problematik. För att besvara vårt syfte valde vi en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod och intervjuade fem personliga assistenter som har erfarenheter av kunder som lever med alkoholmissbruk. Huvudresultatet av vår studie visade att personliga assistenternas psykosociala arbetsmiljö påverkas negativt av denna problematik genom att de upplever stress och oro. Det bristande stödet och otydliga riktlinjer var viktiga orsaker till den upplevda negativa psykosociala arbetsmiljön. / Research shows that personal assistans is a profession that has often been a lack of psychosocial work enwironment due to the fact that assistans often work alone with the client, the lack of clear guidance from management, and inadequate social support. This, in combination with the client's alcohol abuse and its soul discretion maw further create additional vulnerability and ethical dilemmas of the assistans. The aim of our work was to investigate how personal assistans describe that their psychosocial work enwironment is influenced by the customer's alcohol abuse. Further, it was important to higlight the client's autonomy and assistans own boundaries in this problem. To fulfill our purpose, we chose a qualitative research method and interviewed five personal assistans who have experience of clients living with alcohol abuse. The main result of our study showed that their prychosocial work enwironment is adversly affected by this problem in a way that causes stress and anxiety. The lack of support and unclear guidelines were important reasons for the perceived negative psychosocial work enwironment.

Binge drinking as one of the alcohol consumption patterns, affects the quality of life of the drinker, significant others and the society in general. It contributes to negative social, economic and health effects on social support networks. This sub-study of the five year trans-disciplinary Alcohol study analysed the existing quantitative data of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The broad aim of the Alcohol study is to gain a better understanding of the alcohol consumption patterns and the causes and consequences of binge drinking amongst South African. The overarching aim of this sub-study was to identify the socioeconomic effects of binge drinking on support networks with a view to contributing to a development of a relevant, integrated and coherent strategy to address alcohol abuse and misuse in the selected areas of the study. The study adopted a mixed methods approach by combining the qualitative and quantitative paradigms to understand the phenomenon of binge drinking and its effects on support networks more adequately. A literature study was undertaken to firstly understand the broader context of the social aspects of alcohol abuse in South Africa, and secondly, to understand social support, social support networks and social network analysis in relation to binge drinking from a conceptual and theoretical framework. Unpacking of the concepts social support, social support networks and social network analysis provided a base to argue that social support networks are affected by binge drinking because the drinker and networks such as family and service providers are interrelated and interdependent. Relevant theoretical frameworks that support this view that person and environment are related and cannot be separated because one affects the other as well, were used to substantiate the argument. Binge drinking was further cross tabulated with other relevant variables to further understand the alcohol consumption patterns. The profile of social problems from the PURE data provided a picture of the challenges in the demarcated areas. As such poverty, low educational level and income were used as markers of socio-economic position. Having identified binge drinking as one pattern of alcohol consumption used in the communities, the study further identified the socio-economic effects experienced by support networks through semi-structured interviews with a schedule and focus groups. The family members and service providers as key informants were identified as support networks. The identified family support network representatives were children, spouse, parents and a sibling and they explained their experiences with a binge drinker. Specific themes of social support were used to describe their experiences of support. These themes are: types of support provided; recipient perception, reciprocal support and behaviour of the provider. The results indicated that support networks are negatively affected by binge drinking because social support is not provided as expected. Performance of roles is compromised and binge drinkers socially constructed views of being justified to abuse of alcohol in that they themselves were exposed to the same situation as children, thus the children are expected to accept their drinking and the socio-economic situation. The community support networks were interviewed to obtain information on the alcohol abuse and socio-economic conditions in the selected communities and to identify the intervention strategies employed to combat the alcohol abuse problems. Suggestions to enhance intervention strategies are proposed focusing on assessment of risk and risk environment, targeted interventions, multi-level synergistic intervention and multi-disciplinary roles and partnerships. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Our study aims to investigate whether resilient children share common factors that could explain them not following the expected course of development for said group. The study also sets out to explore which strategies resilient children implement in order to cope with their situation. The study is based on the following questions: How do resilient children describe their experiences from growing up with parents with substance abuse problems? What risk and protective factors do they mention in their biographies? We use the system theory and Goffman's dramaturgic perspective as analytical tools.  The system theory could help us see the family as a system, while Goffman's theory might help us understand how resilient children find different strategies, and why they implement these strategies, to hide their family problems. The results show that the most important factors with a positive effect on resilient children were: to have somebody else important in their lives, to have goals in life, to have a safe haven, to think independently and to develop a high level of independence early in life.