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This thesis examines the experiences of parents who are raising their adopted children who have Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). Four married couples, and one single mother, who married after she had raised her sons participated in this study. All are white and middle or upper-middle class. Five adoptive mothers and one adoptive father were interviewed, while their spouses contributed to the study by reviewing the interview transcripts, and discussing issues raised within them. Eight children with diagnosed or suspected FAE are discussed. They are Cree or Saulteaux, and are between the ages of nine and 23 . Through multiple in-depth interviews, and the demographic profile form, richly detailed information was recorded on these families' day-to-day lives: the children's school experiences, learning disabilities and behaviour problems, their strengths, their health and interactions with peers; parents' interactions with professionals, treatments and behaviour management strategies they sought or devised, their use of support groups and other forms of social support and encounters with the criminal justice and mental health systems. <p> Grounded theory methodology was used to analyse the data and a conceptual model was constructed to outline the process of redefining parenting which describes the practical and psychological tasks parents perform as the family evolves over time. A central role is taken by the mothers who become advocates for their children as they undertake a quest for the meaning of their children's behaviour, seek a diagnosis, and try to secure services for them. It was found that people with FAE are misunderstood and misdiagnosed because of their anomalous nature, which often leads to stigmatisation. This thesis attempts to dispel these misconceptions, document the parents' and children's struggles, and identify the types of services these families desperately need.

This thesis examines the experiences of parents who are raising their adopted children who have Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). Four married couples, and one single mother, who married after she had raised her sons participated in this study. All are white and middle or upper-middle class. Five adoptive mothers and one adoptive father were interviewed, while their spouses contributed to the study by reviewing the interview transcripts, and discussing issues raised within them. Eight children with diagnosed or suspected FAE are discussed. They are Cree or Saulteaux, and are between the ages of nine and 23 . Through multiple in-depth interviews, and the demographic profile form, richly detailed information was recorded on these families' day-to-day lives: the children's school experiences, learning disabilities and behaviour problems, their strengths, their health and interactions with peers; parents' interactions with professionals, treatments and behaviour management strategies they sought or devised, their use of support groups and other forms of social support and encounters with the criminal justice and mental health systems. <p> Grounded theory methodology was used to analyse the data and a conceptual model was constructed to outline the process of redefining parenting which describes the practical and psychological tasks parents perform as the family evolves over time. A central role is taken by the mothers who become advocates for their children as they undertake a quest for the meaning of their children's behaviour, seek a diagnosis, and try to secure services for them. It was found that people with FAE are misunderstood and misdiagnosed because of their anomalous nature, which often leads to stigmatisation. This thesis attempts to dispel these misconceptions, document the parents' and children's struggles, and identify the types of services these families desperately need.

Alcohol-impaired driving is a major cause of motor vehicle accident and death in the United States. People who are arrested for DUI (Driving under the Influence) are at high risk to reoffend; approximately one in three of these individuals will commit another DUI offense in the three years following their first conviction (Nochajski & Stasiewicz, 2006). This high risk for recidivism in these individuals suggests that cognitive characteristics may contribute to a pattern of pathological decision making leading to impaired driving. Indeed, individuals with a history of DUI report higher rates of impulsiveness and behavioral dysregulation compared to their nonoffending peers. Relatively little research, however, has used laboratory methods to identify the specific behavioral characteristics, such as poor inhibitory control or heightened sensitivity to immediate reward, which may differentiate DUI offenders from nonoffenders. Further, little is known about how individuals with a history of DUI respond following an acute dose of alcohol. Study 1 examined impulsivity in 20 adults with a recent DUI conviction and 20 adults with no history of DUI using self-report and behavioral measures of impulsivity. This study also used a novel decision-making paradigm to examine how different levels of risk and reward influenced the decision to drive after drinking in both groups. Results of this study found that DUI offenders did not differ from controls in their performance on behavioral measures of impulsivity. They did, however, report higher levels of impulsivity and demonstrated a greater willingness to tolerate higher levels of risk for more modest rewards. Study 2 examined the acute effects of alcohol and expectancy manipulation on driving performance and decision making in the same group of participants. Neither alcohol nor expectancy manipulation exerted a systematic effect on decision making in either group. Alcohol impaired driving performance equally in both groups, but the DUI group perceived themselves as less impaired by alcohol. Expectancy manipulation eliminated this group difference in perceived driving ability. Taken together, these findings identify processes that risk of impaired driving in DUI offenders. They may perceive themselves as less impaired by alcohol, leading to risky decision making when drinking. Expectancy manipulation may be a viable method of reducing risky decision making in DUI offenders.

Gezielte Präventionsmaßnahmen für Jugendliche mit einem hohen Risiko für alkoholbezogene Störungen sind wichtig, allerdings sind die dazu erforderlichen Kenntnisse über prädisponierende Faktoren begrenzt. Deshalb wurden zwei Studien durchgeführt, um biologische und psychologische Risikofaktoren für das jugendliche Trinkverhalten zu untersuchen. In beiden Studien wurde das CAIS (Computer-assisted Alcohol Infusion System) erstmals bei 18-19-Jährigen angewendet, was im Vergleich zur oralen Alkoholgabe eine genauere Kontrolle über die Blutalkoholspiegel und deren zeitlichen Verlauf ermöglicht. In der ersten Studie konnten sich die Jugendlichen den Alkohol selbst per Knopfdruck verabreichen, während in der zweiten Studie ein Blutalkoholspiegel von 0.8 ‰ induziert und stabil gehalten wurde. Die hier berichteten Studien legen nahe, dass es folgende Risikofaktoren für den Alkoholkonsum bei 18-19-Jährigen gibt: männliches Geschlecht, starke explizite Trinkmotive im nüchternen Zustand, starke explizite und implizite Trinkmotive im alkoholisierten Zustand sowie vermehrt zielgerichtetes Verhalten im alkoholisierten Zustand bei 0.8 ‰.:Hinweise zur vorliegenden Dissertation 1 Danksagung 3 Abkürzungsverzeichnis 4 1. Einführung 6 1.1 Riskanter Konsum, schädlicher Gebrauch, Abhängigkeit 6 1.2 Durch Alkohol verursachte Schäden 8 1.3 Derzeitiger Forschungsstand und Forschungslücken 9 1.4. Ziele der vorliegenden Arbeit 13 Studie 1: Dresden Longitudinal study on Alcohol use in Young Adults (D-LAYA) 14 Studie 2: Acute effects of alcohol on learning and habitization 14 2. Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse 16 3. Diskussion 17 3.1 Stärken und Limitationen 20 3.2 Schlussfolgerungen 22 4. Zusammenfassung 24 4.1 Hintergrund 24 4.2 Fragestellungen/ Hypothesen 25 4.3 Material und Methoden 25 4.4 Ergebnisse 26 4.5 Schlussfolgerungen 26 6. Summary 28 6.1 Background 28 6.2 Research questions 28 6.3 Methods 29 6.4 Results 29 6.5 Conclusions 30 7. Literaturverzeichnis 31 8. Anhang 37 IV 8.1 Artikel 1 37 8.2 Artikel 2 49 8.3 Artikel 3 65 8.4 Erklärung über die Eigenständigkeit (Formblatt 1.2.1) 79 8.5 Erklärung über die Einhaltung der aktuellen gesetzlichen Vorgaben im Rahmen der Dissertation (Formblatt 1.1) 81