The nucleus circularis has been linked to a role in regulating osmotic thirst but evidence has also shown that full bilateral destruction of the nucleus circularis was not necessary to achieve a deficit in drinking behavior after an osmotic challenge. The present study attempted to answer two primary research questions. The first question was whether osmoreceptive cells existed around the nucleus circularis in a homogeneous fashion or if these cells existed in a structured fashion stretching from the nucleus circularis forward. The second question was whether animals with lesions of the nucleus circularis and the surrounding areas were different in normal daily water intake than animals with no lesions. The first question was approached by lesioning the nucleus circularis, the area one millimeter anterior to the nucleus circularis, one millimeter posterior to the nucleus circularis, one half of a millimeter medial to the nucleus circularis and using a sham group which had the electrode passed through the brain to a spot one millimeter above the nucleus circularis but passing no current. All animals were then given an osmotic challenge which consisted of half of each group with an injection of hypertonic saline while the other half of each group was given isotonic saline. After a five-day recovery period, the injection procedure was reversed. Water consumption on each test day was measured at ten-minute intervals for one hour. Difference scores were then computed by subtracting the amount of water consumed after hypertonic saline injection from the amount of water consumed after isotonic saline injection. The difference scores were then used in an analysis of variance which revealed a significant difference between groups. A subsequent post hoc test showed that the nucleus circularis group was different from all other groups except for the anterior lesion group which showed a trend in the same direction as the nucleus circularis group. The second research question was approached in two ways. The first way was to simply record the amount of water consumed in each twenty-four hour period. An analysis of variance showed no significant difference between any of the groups. The second method for testing the second research question was to put the animals on a twenty-three hour water deprivation schedule and measure the amount of water consumed during the one hour when water was available. Once again, no significant differences were observed.

Thesis (M.P.H.M. (Primary Health Care Management))--Mahidol University, 2008. / LICL has E-Thesis 0039 ; please contact computer services.

Alcohol use among male undergraduate students continues to be problematic. Most college drinkers started drinking in high school, but some begin even earlier; their college alcohol problem is just a continuation of earlier practices. The precise reasons that the college environment is particularly risky for alcohol use are not understood.The first and fourth year experience in college appear to be very different. This study has examined the drinking / non-drinking habits of first and fourth year Ball State male students who have or are presently living in the residence halls. There were five first-year and five fourth-year students who were asked questions in a qualitative interview format. Some of the issues which were covered included hangovers, tolerance, drinking games, and music.First and fourth year students act similarly in some areas, while there are significant differences in others. Drinking from the first to the fourth year seems to become progressively moderate. Drinking, and the consequences from drinking are most serious for freshmen and less serious for seniors and upperclass students.All of the respondents had a very high tolerance to alcohol. This was very puzzling considering that most students use their tolerance and the effect of hangovers to determine whether or not they are drinking responsibly. Therefore, because the respondents generally did not get hungover from a night of heavy drinking, they may think that their drinking is responsible, when it fact it may be causing unforeseen harm.Respondents drank for two specific positive reasons: (1) euphoria and (2) malebonding comradary experience. Many of the respondents stated they received some of their emotional and problem-solving support when they were drinking and talking with friends. Music also played an important role in the drinking experience. "Classic" rock and roll was popular among the respondents because of the rhythm and the pro-drug and pro-alcohol lyrics. Drinking games were looked upon as activities to make drinking even more convivial. They also contributed to the male-bonding experience whereby one would be surrounded by friends cheering them on to have another drink.In conclusion, alcohol is a significant problem on the college / university campus. The narrative suggests that although students experiences are individual, there are perceptions about alcohol which are common among many students. These commonalities can be used to provide effective educational programming to students in order to educate about responsible alcohol use. / Fisher Institute for Wellness

As many as 50% of full time students are employed for pay while enrolled in secondary education (Condition of Education; Planty et al., 2009). It is well documented that college is a vulnerable time for heavy drinking, and similarly, increased consumption among the workforce continues to rise. Student workers, who occupy both roles, therefore may be particularly at risk. The present research explored potential factors related to this stressful dual role experience, which was hypothesized to be related to increased alcohol consumption. One such factor proposed was the self-conscious emotion of shame. According to Hull's (1981) Self Awareness Model, individuals may drink to decrease levels of self-awareness in light of real or perceived failure or intensely negative emotional experiences. Based on this theory, both state and trait shame (shame-proneness) have been linked with alcohol consumption. In line with the literature, it was hypothesized that individuals higher in shame-proneness would report recent experiences of shame, as well higher levels of alcohol consumption. It was additionally proposed that this process might be exacerbated for individuals experiencing workplace role ambiguity. Role ambiguity obfuscates both the process necessary for achieving favorable work outcomes, as well as whether those outcomes are or are not actually achieved. Therefore, individuals experiencing high levels of role ambiguity may exist in a continuous experience of wondering if they are doing their jobs correctly or well. The relation between shame-proneness (a trait) and experiences of shame (a state) was proposed to be moderated by the experience of role ambiguity. The present study revealed, however, that there were no direct, indirect, or conditional effects. The discussion explores possible reasons for these outcomes, and offers thoughts regarding future research directions for further exploring these questions.

Compared with the population at-large, the Emergency Department (ED) population sees a high percentage of people with alcohol use and abuse problems. Therefore, the ED is well suited for the implementation of alcohol screening and interventions. It is important to be able to identify at risk drinkers who come to the ED for treatment for injury or other medical problems so that interventions may occur. Project ED Health conducted intensive interviews with harmful and hazardous drinkers presenting to the ED for treatment of injury or medical problem. The data was entered into a database and analyzed to find differences between injured and non-injured at risk drinkers. We found that 2/3 of at risk drinkers presented without injury. Compared to participants without injuries, injured individuals were significantly younger and more likely to be male. Injured and non-injured individuals had similar drinking patterns and health behaviors. Individuals at risk for alcohol-associated problems are similar in terms of drinking patterns and consequences and health status. Any screening tactic that is less than comprehensive, (i.e. that targets only injured individuals), will miss a significant number of at risk drinkers.

Many studies have explored the relationship of one's alcohol use both to family environment and to the drinking behavior of the parents. However, most of these studies have used clinical samples. The participants in this study were from a non-clinical, college undergraduate sample (N = 206). The sample included 69% females and 31% males who were primarily Caucasian.A causal path model was used to assess the relationships between familial alcohol use, the perceptions of family environment, propensity for substance use, and actual alcohol use. Participants completed the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) for themselves, their parents, and one sibling. Family environment measures completed by participants included: the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) to measure the "experience" of family alcohol use; the Family of Origin Scale (FOS) as a measure of the family affectional environment; and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES Ill) as a measure of family structural and relational factors. The MacAndrew Scale (MAC) was completed to assess the propensity for substance use.A path analysis of the proposed model indicated that family alcohol use did not exert a significant direct effect on propensity for or actual use of alcohol, nor did it exert any significant effect on the family affectional environment. Each of these is a rather surprising result and contrary to results of previous studies. However, family alcohol use significantly affected the "experience" of living in such a family environment, especially when alcohol use became more problematic. Family alcohol use, mediated by this "experience," had significant effects on family structural components of leadership and control, as measured by FACES III. The "experience" of family alcohol use was significantly and negatively related to the affectional environment of the family. The indirect effects of this "experience" were significant only through the control component of family structure and direct effects this "experience" were significant only for actual use of alcohol. Propensity for use and actual use were also significantly related as was expected.Nearly 50% of the sample indicated a propensity for use (MAC > 24), actual problematic use of alcohol (MAST > 5), or both, when using the standard cutoff scores of these instruments. It appears that further analysis of family influences on these behaviors, especially those behaviors that create difficulties in life, is warranted. Treatment approaches have typically maintained that improved family affective and relational environments are primary treatment goals. That the affectional environment of the family was not significantly affected by familial use of alcohol was another unexpected outcome and also warrants further study. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Adolescents from nine intact health classes from two high schools participated either in a traditional lecturebased alcohol prevention intervention or a nontraditional experiential-based intervention. The nontraditional intervention focussed on attitudes toward drinking and the misperceptions associated with alcohol consumption norms. Subjects completed several self-report measures on attitudes toward drinking (own, perceived friends', and perceived school's), perceived ranking of alcohol consumption compared to closest friends and compared to the school, intent to drink, and actual reporting of alcohol consumption. For the nontraditional intervention, it was hypothesized that students would change their perceptions of others' attitudes toward drinking and their perception of the norm enough to decrease their alcohol consumption. Results indicated the intervention changed the perceived attitude of the school, but not enough to significantly change consumption levels. These findings confirm that misperceptions occur and that they influence alcohol consumption. / Department of Psychological Science

Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)--University of Waikato, 2007. / Title from PDF cover (viewed March 31, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-135)

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

This thesis explores the nature of responses to problems associated with drinking and drunkenness. The aim is to consider how perceptions and responses to the issue have changed over time, and, crucially, to analyze the implications of the resulting evidence for policy and practice. There are two interdependent issues which the thesis seeks to expose and debate. First there is the process of emergence, the historical development of alcohol abuse as a social problem. It is possible to see in the historical record the continuities and (just as importantly) the discontinuities of responses to drinking behaviour from the Industrial Revolution to the present day. it is important to realise that some important aspects of contemporary explanations of problem drinking are in fact 'hangovers' from an earlier tradition and, in particular, from the Temperance response to alcohol problems. Ultimately, however, this is a thesis about the practice of managing contemporary alcohol related problems. It is about how the modern institutional network of criminal justice, medical, and social welfare agencies perceive and respond to problem drinking in Scotland. How do police officers, procurators fiscal, magistrates, doctors, and social workers view problem drinking? How do they respond to the problem drinker? The thesis then is about attempts to control, treat, and/or rehabilitate deviant drinkers, but it is also about the attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of the individuals whose job it is to realise policy as practice. In as much as it is based on the belief that in order to understand the modern system of management of the problem, it is necessary to understand how 'alcoholism' came to be defined as a social problem in the first place, the analysis is informed by perspectives and concepts that have been developed in the sociology of social problems. Chapter I considers the main features of this analytical framework and outlines the structure of the thesis.