Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-208). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ99226

The purpose of this study was to investigate how schools/school districts plan to implement Oregon Administrative Rule 581-22-413, specifically: (1) How schools plan to integrate alcohol and drug abuse prevention into the Comprehensive Health Program. (2) How schools plan for age appropriate annual instruction at the senior high level. (3) How schools plan for the alcohol and drug abuse prevention education of the district's staff. An examination of the related literature revealed concerns about the proper type of planning schools/school districts would need to do to effectively satisfy this OAR. The literature further indicated School Health Programs were encouraged by the experts in the field, but few schools had achieved the entire concept. Staff education was an area that the literature indicated needed greater definition and implementation. A survey questionnaire was prepared with the help of a Delphi group to investigate the concerns. The questionnaire was sent to 180 randomly chosen administrators. The data were collected and descriptive analyses were performed. It was determined from this study that most of the Oregon schools administrators are concerned about OAR 581-22-413 and are attempting to meet these regulations. However, they are facing time and financial constraints which make it difficult to fit the new requirements into the curriculum. Staff in-service is becoming a reality for administrators and certified staff but other school personnel have been left out. There are indications that alcohol and drug abuse prevention education is being integrated into senior high school classes such as Science, Social Studies and Physical Education, in addition to comprehensive health courses. This approach can work providing the teachers of those subjects are well prepared to teach alcohol and drug prevention effectively. It was recommended that all college graduates seeking a teaching certificate be required to take a course in alcohol and drug abuse prevention in order to qualify. / Graduation date: 1991

The main purpose of this study was to examine, in the natural environment, the relative effects of positive reinforcement and response cost as an adjunct to traditional group counseling in the treatment of substance abusers. While these procedures have been repeatedly reported to be effective in controlled settings, little evidence exists that the results generalize to the natural setting. Further, there is a dearth of research which compares contingency contracting to other modalities in the natural setting. Therefore, a second purpose of this research was to compare the effects of contingency contracting as an adjunct to traditional group counseling versus traditional group counseling alone.Subjects for this study were 45 male enlisted soldiers who were diagnosed as alcohol or drug abusers and were enrolled in an Army Community Drug and Alcohol Assistance Center (CDAAC). Of the subjects, 25 were alcohol abusers and 20 were drug abusers. The mean age was 23 years and the median rank was E4. They were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment conditions.The counselors were six paraprofessional military members of the CDAAC staff. They were given five one-hour training sessions by the experimenter on the use of contingency contracting and reinforcement procedures. They were then randomly assigned to the treatment conditions. All subjects received traditional group counseling. Additionally, subjects in Treatment Condition1 received tokens for, carrying out the contingencies of a two-part weekly contract. Subjects in Treatment Condition 2 received the total possible number of tokens at the onset of treatment and forfeited tokens each week if the contingencies of the contract were not met. Tokens were exchanged at the end of treatment for rewards previously negotiated with each subject. Subjectsin Treatment Condition 3 did no contracting and received no tokens.The dependent variables in this study were the subject's level of depression and hostility. These were measured by the Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Buss-Durkee Inventory, respectively. A counterbalanced pretest-posttest design was used. The instruments were administered in a classroom in the CDAAC to all subjects prior to the first group session and again after the sixth session. The posttest instruments were administered in the reverse order from the pretest.The statistical analyses were accomplished using a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The analysis of the data revealed no statistical differences between contingency contracting with positive reinforcement or contingency contracting with response cost. Further, there were no differences between contingency contracting as an adjunct to traditional group counseling and group counseling alone.The failure to find significant differences between the groups suggests that contingency contracting may not be a viable therapeutic tool in out-patient settings where the counselor does not have control over all potential reinforcers or where the clients may not have a substantial investment in the reinforcement. If the technique is only successful with highly motivated, voluntary clients, it may be no more effective than the contingencies implicit in other counseling relationships. If the effects of in-patient token economies do not generalize to the natural setting and if these procedures require unrealisitic controls when administered in out-patient settings, the previously reported positive results may have little practical value. Further research should be conducted which compares the effects of contingency contracting to other treatment modalities.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-62).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-120).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-97).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-194). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-88).

Individual differences in subjective response to alcohol have been implicated as a risk factor for the development of alcohol use disorders. There are, however, a variety of ethical, legal, and practical considerations surrounding alcohol administration studies which limit the extent to which this marker can be used to identify those believed to be at greater risk. The current research contains two related laboratory studies with the overall goal of identifying valid and reliable correlates of individual differences in subjective response to alcohol that can be used to discern emerging adults at greater risk for problematic drinking. Study 1 evaluated the associations between the actual subjective experience of a moderate dose of alcohol (BAC .08%) and three domains of potential correlates: anticipated subjective response based on a hypothetical drinking scenario (targeted .08% BAC); response to other physiological and perceptual challenges (e.g., CO₂ challenge, spinning challenge); and indices of cognitive impairment implicated as risk factors for the development of alcohol use disorders. Study 2 examined each of these domains in relation to transitions in heavy drinking from high school to college to determine whether they were associated with changes in relative risk during this developmental period. Overall, the results provide support for the utility of examining individual differences in subjective response to alcohol based on a hypothetical drinking scenario. The evidence suggests that experienced drinkers are capable of reliably and accurately estimating their subjective response to alcohol, that these anticipated effects are distinct from general beliefs about the effects of alcohol on behavior (i.e., alcohol expectancies), and that they are associated with patterns of drinking in emerging adults. There was little evidence to suggest that individual differences in subjective response to alcohol were associated with subjective response to other physiological or perceptual challenges, or patterns of cognitive impairment previously shown to be related to an increased risk for alcohol dependence. The results of the current study support the utility of using measures of anticipated subjective response as a proxy for individual differences in subjective response to alcohol when the administration of alcohol is either not appropriate or feasible. / text