The hermeneutic phenomenological study interprets the lived experience of female alcohol dependence. Literature reveals that past research into alcohol dependence has generally used male subjects that formed the standard for theories, and treatment, of alcohol dependence. Researchers realised that alcohol dependent women differ significantly from their male counterparts, leading to an increase in exploratory studies of female alcohol dependence. However, these studies only provided a description of the disorder. How female alcohol dependents experience their disorder and how it makes sense to them has been largely ignored. The philosophy of Martin Heidegger provided the framework for collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Analysis revealed four life-worlds: „The Disheartened One‟, „The Ambivalent Player, „The Contemplator‟ and „The Covert Chauvinist‟. A lived experience typology of female alcohol dependence was proposed, namely „The Condemned‟, „The Utopian‟ and „The Realist‟. Implications of the findings on treatment and recommendations for future research are discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Overcrowding is a serious problem in prisons and jails. Most people who are in prison and jail have substance abuse problems. Long-term, intensive, therapeutic community, substance abuse treatment in prison has proven effective in reducing arrests, amounts of incarceration and time until first arrest. Jails, with their shorter times of incarceration, make long-term treatment impossible and therapeutic communities or milieu therapy difficult. There are few substance abuse treatment programs in jails and even fewer outcome evaluations to determine effectiveness so it is not known if jail treatment is effective. Graduates of the Inmate Recovery Program (a short term, day treatment style, jail-based substance abuse treatment program) were compared four years before and up to five years after treatment with a nontreated control group and a treatment drop-out group. The IRP group had fewer arrests, less time incarcerated, a bigger drop in rates of incarceration and a longer time lapse until first arrest than the drop-outs. The IRP group had less arrests, a longer time lapse until first arrest, a bigger drop in rate of incarceration and less incarceration in two out of five years than the control group. IRP produced a conservative net avoided cost of incarceration of $786,593.89 alone. This is equivalent to an average savings of $3,480.50 per client for the average three and a half years after treatment. Experiences prior to IRP also impacted treatment results. Subjects with fewer previous prison sentences; fewer prior arrests; less time incarcerated the year of treatment; more prior alcohol and drug related arrests; a job, or another legal source of income; who were older; and had more DUII arrests before treatment were associated with fewer arrests and less time incarcerated after treatment. This information may help improve future IRP performance. Therefore the Inmate Recovery Program has a variety of favorable impacts and appears to also be a cost-effective program. / Graduation date: 1996

The hermeneutic phenomenological study interprets the lived experience of female alcohol dependence. Literature reveals that past research into alcohol dependence has generally used male subjects that formed the standard for theories, and treatment, of alcohol dependence. Researchers realised that alcohol dependent women differ significantly from their male counterparts, leading to an increase in exploratory studies of female alcohol dependence. However, these studies only provided a description of the disorder. How female alcohol dependents experience their disorder and how it makes sense to them has been largely ignored. The philosophy of Martin Heidegger provided the framework for collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Analysis revealed four life-worlds: „The Disheartened One‟, „The Ambivalent Player, „The Contemplator‟ and „The Covert Chauvinist‟. A lived experience typology of female alcohol dependence was proposed, namely „The Condemned‟, „The Utopian‟ and „The Realist‟. Implications of the findings on treatment and recommendations for future research are discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

No description available.

The study was conducted to see if there is as much or more of a difference in outcome of treatment for addiction in faith-based treatment than secular-based treatment. The research was conducted using a sample of thirty-seven respondents from various sites in Southern California who volunteered to fill out the questionnaire. Data was collected using a self-administrated survey questionnaire.

This study examined the relationship between perceived social support and length of sobriety. In particular this study investigated whether higher reports of perceived social support had an effect on an individual's length of sobriety. Sixty-seven male and female residents of an inpatient alcohol and drug treatment center participated in this study.

No description available.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Naltrexone (NTX) is clinically efficacious at attenuating alcohol intake in non-abstinent alcoholics and, to a lesser extent, craving, independent of intake. While generally regarded as a non-selective opioid antagonist, NTX has been shown to have concentration dependent selectivity with lower doses (< 1.0 mg/kg) selective for the mu receptor and doses exceeding 1.0 mg/kg capable of binding to delta and kappa receptors. Like the mu system, the delta receptor system has also been implicated in mediating the rewarding effects of EtOH. In contrast, the role of the kappa system is less clear though recent evidence suggests that kappa activation may mediate EtOH aversion. Thus, the present study sought to evaluate the effects of both mu-selective and non-selective doses of naltrexone, the selective delta antagonist naltrindole (NTI), and the selective kappa agonist U50,488H (U50) in a paradigm that procedurally separates the motivation to seek versus consume a reinforcer to assess whether these receptor-selective drugs differentially affects these behaviors in both selected (alcohol-preferring P rats) and non-selected (Long Evans) rats, and whether these effects are specific to EtOH. Rats were trained to complete a single response requirement that resulted in access to either 2% sucrose or 10% EtOH for a 20-min drinking session. In three separate experiments, rats were injected (using a balanced design) with either vehicle or 1 of 3 doses of drug: U50 (IP; 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0mg/kg), NTI (IP; 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/kg), low NTX (SC; 0.1, 0.3, or 1.0 mg/kg) or high NTX (SC; 1.0, 3.0, or 10.0 mg/kg) on both consummatory and appetitive treatment days. Following either a 20 (U50), 15 (NTI), or 30 minute (NTX) pretreatment, rats were placed into an operant chamber and intake (consummatory) or lever responses (appetitive) and response latencies were recorded. The results showed that overall: U50, NTI, and NTX attenuated intake and responding for sucrose and EtOH. Independent of reinforcer, LE rats were more sensitive to U50’s effects on intake while P rats were more sensitive to the effects on seeking. P rats reinforced with EtOH were more sensitive to NTI’s effects on intake and seeking than all other rat groups. P rats were more sensitive overall to lower doses of NTX than LE rats and lower doses of NTX were more selective in attenuating EtOH responding vs. sucrose. Higher doses of NTX suppressed intake and responding across both lines and reinforcers. These results demonstrate that craving and intake may be differentially regulated by the kappa, delta, and mu opioid receptor systems as a function of “family history” and suggest that different mechanisms of the same (opioid) system may differentially affect craving and intake.

Because of the prevalence of substance abuse in America and the association between this issue and common problems brought to the family therapist, it is important that family therapists be trained to diagnose and either treat or refer substance abusing clients and their families. This study gathered information from the Directors of Master's level family therapy programs accredited by AAMFT about the content and format of training that students in their programs receive preparing them to work with substance abusing families. Twenty of the 22 programs were represented by completed questionnaires. Five programs were reported as having a required substance abuse course; four, a popular elective. Three respondents reported plans to increase their coverage of the topic in their curricula. The average of the responses for prevalence of substance abuse as a central issue in practicum cases was 30%. Although about 75% of the respondents believed that their graduates were ready to diagnose and refer these cases, only 25% believed that these same students were ready to treat substance abuse cases. Data showed that 40% of the respondents believed it advisable for AAMFT to require a separate course on substance abuse. Comments from those opposed to such a requirement noted the crowdedness of existing curricula, the importance of academic freedom, and the abundance of other topics to be covered. / Master of Science

This study explored the Object Relations of a sample of 45 subjects who were using alcohol and were diagnosed with co-morbid Depressive or Bipolar disorders and/or Personality disorders. All subjects were receiving treatment at a government psychiatric hospital in South Africa. The similarities and differences in the Object Relations of these individuals were identified. A biographical questionnaire, the Alcohol Use Disorder Test (AUDIT), which was used as a screening measure, and the Bells Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory (BORRTI) were administered to obtain information from a purposive sample. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the results of the assessment measures. Analysis of the BORRTI data indicated a high rate of depressive and personality disorders within this sample. Results of the sub-sample (n=29) whose scores were included in the Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient analysis indicate that higher levels of alcohol consumption result in increased levels of hallucinations and delusions. Other correlations were identified between high levels of alcohol consumption and heightened levels of reality distortions and more uncertainty in the perceptions of these individuals. Significant differences in the scores of the male and female participants were identified. With the female participants, the higher the level of alcohol consumption, the lower the individuals scored in terms of pathological levels of egocentricity, uncertain perceptions, insecure attachments, alienation, social incompetence as well as hallucinations and delusions. Alternatively, in the male sample, higher levels of alcohol consumption result in increased hallucinations and delusions, reality distortions, uncertainty in perceptions, alienation, social incompetence and egocentricity. / Psychology / M.A. (Research Psychology)