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.

Studiens syfte är att studera yrkesverksammas beskrivning av deras arbete med barn i familjer med alkoholmissbruksproblematik. Utifrån det vill vi även belysa de olika stödmetoder som de använder sig av i sitt arbete. Vi använde oss av en kvalitativ metod i form av intervjuer. Intervjuerna var halvstrukturerade och en intervjuguide användes vid de olika intervjutillfällena. Resultatet visar på att den vanligaste hjälpmetoden för barn med missbrukande föräldrar är stödgrupper i olika former. Genom resultatet framgår också att föräldrar som missbrukar alkohol påverkar både sig själva och sina barn. Föräldrarna lever med skam och samtidigt i en lögn, då de försöker dölja sitt missbruk. Barnen hamnar i en liknande situation, då de bland annat tar på sig skulden samtidigt som de är väldigt lojala mot sina föräldrar. Detta gör att barnen får bära på en hemlighet för omgivningen. De yrkesverksammas arbete blir komplicerat, då dessa barn är svåra att upptäcka och erbjuda hjälp. / The study's purpose is to study professionals' description of their work with children in families with alcohol abuse problems. From there we also want to highlight the various support methods that they use in their work. We used a qualitative approach in the form of interviews. The interviews were semi-structured and an interview guide was used in the various interview sessions. The result shows that the most common method of aid for children with addicted parents is support groups in various forms. The result also shows that parents who abuse alcohol affect both themselves and their children. Parents living with shame and simultaneously in a lie when they try to hide their addiction. The children find themselves in a similar situation when they, among other things take the blame while they are very loyal to their parents. This means that children have to carry a secret to the surroundings. The professionals' work becomes complicated, as these children are difficult to detect and offer help.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 16, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-134).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-168).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2005. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 218 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Researchers examining issues of recent veterans of military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have found evidence of psychological distress and difficulty adjusting to civilian life post-deployment. Changes in educational benefits offered to veterans will likely facilitate greater numbers of veterans to enter academia in the coming years. This survey of 49 college student veterans at a large Midwestern university was designed to reveal the frequency and intensity of psychological distress, PTSD and alcohol misuse. Relationships between these constructs and the constructs of social support, stigma and barriers to psychological care, life satisfaction, traumatic experiences, attitudes toward help seeking, and service utilization are reported. A history of mental health service utilization since military service was reported by many respondents. PTSD and alcohol misuse symptoms were reported by many college student veterans and incidence in this sample was greater than the incidence previously reported in the literature on veterans. Stigma was found to be negatively correlated with attitudes toward help seeking. Post deployment social support was found to be negatively associated with psychological distress and positively associated with service utilization. Implications and limitations of these findings are presented and future directions for research and intervention are discussed.

The aim of this study was to analyse the experiences of social workers in addiction unit have of collaborative work with the children's unit on the issue of children in families with alcohol abuse. The method used in this study was a qualitative method and the empirical material has been collected through semi-structured interviews with five social workers in addiction unit in southern Sweden. The result of this study was analysed by framework three different theories: collaboration theory, system theory and organization theory. The study also builds on previous research that treated the same area. The results of this study show that more knowledge about collaborative work is needed. It also appears that there are various factors that hamper the collaborative effort between addiction unit and the children's unit regarding children of alcohol-abusing parents. This concerns for example, perspective differences, legislation and its constraints as well as budget and funding of joint efforts.

Masters of Science / Substance abuse among the youth is one of the main social challenges in South Africa and around the world. The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons of substance abuse among the youth in Grabouw, Western Cape Province of South Africa. The reason why this research was conducted was because the Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning Unit (ITLU) of the University of the Western Cape approached the Department of Social Work with research topics that emerged from the Faculty of Community and Health sciences involvement in the Theewaterkloof communities. One of the concerns expressed by the community of Grabouw is the high prevalence of substance abuse in this community. This study therefore explored the reasons for substance abuse amongst the youth of Grabouw. The research was conducted using the ecological approach as a theoretical framework. A qualitative research methodology was used to explore the phenomenon under study. The research project followed an explorative, descriptive and contextual research design and with this the researcher sought to understand the reasons for substance abuse. The data was gathered through semi-structured one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions and was later analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. The findings showed that the reasons for substance abuse among the youth in the rural area of Grabouw are contextual reasons in which the family plays a major role in influencing substance use and also peer pressure, lack of recreational facilities, low religious involvement, experimenting and negative role models within the family and community, the ‘dop’ system, unemployment, availability and affordability were identified as the major reasons for substance abuse. The second major theme that emerged from the study was the psychological reasons for substance abuse. This includes low self-esteem, relieving stress, sexual stimulation, motivation to do unlawful things and boosting performances in sporting activities. The researcher has put forward various recommendations that will contribute towards solving substance abuse.

Os vieses atencional e avaliativo para imagens relacionadas ao cigarro foram mensurados após a exposição a imagens relacionadas ao álcool (IA) ou controle (IC) através de uma tarefa de atenção visual. Participaram 40 universitários de 19 a 30 anos (M=23 anos) bebedores fumantes designados aleatoriamente para a condição IA ou IC. Além dos vieses, foram avaliados: beber problemático (através do Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), e severidade da dependência de nicotina (Questionário de Tolerância e Fagerstron). Os fumantes apresentaram viés atencional e avaliativo para as imagens relacionadas ao fumar. A exposição prévia a pistas associadas ao beber elevou o viés avaliativo (mas não o atencional) para imagens relacionadas ao cigarro. Observou-se alta freqüência de bebedores problemáticos, porém, baixo grau de dependência em nicotina. As implicações destes resultados para a prevenção ao fumo e ao beber abusivo entre universitários foram discutidas. / This study applied a visual attentional task to evaluated the attentional and evaluative biases for smoking-related images after exposure to alcohol (IA) or control (IC) images. Subjects were 40 college drinker and smokers (19 to 30 years old, mean 23 yrs), randomly assigned for IA or IC conditions. Also problem drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and severity of nicotine dependence (Questionário de Tolerância de Fagerströn) were assessed. Smokers showed attentional and evaluative biases for smoking-related images. Previous exposure to drinking cues increased the evaluative but not the attentional bias for smokingrelated images. There was a high frequency of problem drinkers, but a low degree of nicotine dependence in this sample. The implications of these findings for prevention of smoking and abusive drinking among college students were discussed.

Os vieses atencional e avaliativo para imagens relacionadas ao cigarro foram mensurados após a exposição a imagens relacionadas ao álcool (IA) ou controle (IC) através de uma tarefa de atenção visual. Participaram 40 universitários de 19 a 30 anos (M=23 anos) bebedores fumantes designados aleatoriamente para a condição IA ou IC. Além dos vieses, foram avaliados: beber problemático (através do Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), e severidade da dependência de nicotina (Questionário de Tolerância e Fagerstron). Os fumantes apresentaram viés atencional e avaliativo para as imagens relacionadas ao fumar. A exposição prévia a pistas associadas ao beber elevou o viés avaliativo (mas não o atencional) para imagens relacionadas ao cigarro. Observou-se alta freqüência de bebedores problemáticos, porém, baixo grau de dependência em nicotina. As implicações destes resultados para a prevenção ao fumo e ao beber abusivo entre universitários foram discutidas. / This study applied a visual attentional task to evaluated the attentional and evaluative biases for smoking-related images after exposure to alcohol (IA) or control (IC) images. Subjects were 40 college drinker and smokers (19 to 30 years old, mean 23 yrs), randomly assigned for IA or IC conditions. Also problem drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and severity of nicotine dependence (Questionário de Tolerância de Fagerströn) were assessed. Smokers showed attentional and evaluative biases for smoking-related images. Previous exposure to drinking cues increased the evaluative but not the attentional bias for smokingrelated images. There was a high frequency of problem drinkers, but a low degree of nicotine dependence in this sample. The implications of these findings for prevention of smoking and abusive drinking among college students were discussed.