Not available / text

Alcohol use (AU) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are leading causes of morbidity, premature death, and economic burden. They are also associated with high levels of disability and many other negative outcomes. Twin and family studies have consistently shown that AU and AUD are complex traits influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Although much has been learned about the genetic and environmental etiology of AU and AUD, significant gaps remain. These include the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the roles of risk and protective factors, and the nature of developmental trajectories underpinning the progression from AU to AUD. The aims of this dissertation are: (1) to examine the roles of resilience and personality disorders in the etiology of AU and AUD; (2) to investigate the nature of longitudinal changes in genetic and environmental risk factors responsible for individual differences in AU; and (3) to determine the moderating roles of key environmental risk factors on the impact of aggregate molecular, or polygenic, risk for AU during adolescence. Using both biometrical behavioral genetic and molecular genetic methodologies, five key findings were observed: (1) Resilience is strongly associated with a reduction in risk for AUD, and this relationship appears to be the result of overlapping genetic and shared environmental influences; (2) Borderline and antisocial personality disorders are the strongest and most stable personality pathology predictors of the phenotypic and genotypic liability to AU and AUD across time; (3) Genetic influences on the development of AUD from early adulthood to mid-adulthood are dynamic, whereby two sets of genetic risk factors contribute to AUD risk; (4) The specific genetic influences on AU follow an unfolding pattern of growth over time, whereas unique environmental risk factors are consistent with an accumulation of environmental impacts and risks across time; and (5) High peer group deviance and low parental monitoring are associated with increased AU, while early parental monitoring moderates the polygenic risk for AU at age 20. The implications of these results with regard to prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Twenty years ago the Shuswap Indian community of Alkali Lake was like many other reserve communities in the northern Interior of British Columbia, with life characterized by high levels of drinking, violence, suicide, accidental death, and child abuse and neglect. In 1973 this pattern of life was challenged by the newly-elected Band chief and his wife. Working as a team, and by drawing upon the powers of the Band Office and applying confrontational tactics, the two initiated an anti-alcohol campaign in the community. For three years the chief and his wife persisted, despite extreme hostility and occasional threats against their lives. In 1976 their efforts began to achieve success. By 1981 most adults on the reserve had become committed to a sober lifestyle, and by 1985 the reserve was essentially "dry". This thesis traces the development of the recent events at Alkali Lake. To refer to these events the term "Sobriety movement" has been used. The movement is analyzed largely from a political processual point of view, with attention paid not to the underlying sources of "deprivation" or "stress" that may have generated the movement, but to the strategies and tactics utilized by the movement leaders to promote their cause. In this manner the resource mobilization approach to the study of social movements provides an analytical framework for this study. Several factors are identified as key ingredients in the success of the Sobriety movement. First, the Band chief and his wife were able to use effectively the powers of the Band Office to impose economic sanctions on drinkers. Second, as community leaders they were able to solicit the aid of powerful outside agencies, namely the R.C.M.P. and the Ministry of Human Resources, to support them in their efforts. Third, the personal resources of the two leaders - their courage, strength and determination -were crucial to the movement's survival during its early years. The success of the Sobriety movement can not be understood simply by looking at the leaders' actions. The social and cultural context within which they operated must also be considered. Three underlying and fundamentally important factors are identified: the pre-existence of a strong sense of community within the Alkali Lake village, the inherent readiness of the Alkali Lake people for new leadership and social change, and the use by the Band chief of a leadership tradition that permitted the application of strict punishment as a means of social control. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Extensive documentation exists which firmly establishes the high use rates and disastrous consequences of alcohol consumption by university students. Use rates for this population have been linked to attitudes toward alcohol consumption, especially alcohol expectancies. Research to date on alcohol expectancies has shown differences in expectancies among various groups. However much of this research has been conducted without a theoretical basis, accomplishing little in explaining how beliefs and drinking behavior are related. The investigation was designed to explore the relationships among and between early recollections and alcohol expectancies and to explore how the contents of early recollections function in relation to expectancies in terms of alcohol consumption patterns among three groups of college males (student-athletes, fraternity men, and independents). The content of individuals' early recollections was analyzed and compared to expectancies and consumption rates for each of the three groups. The study addressed seven hypotheses regarding alcohol consumption rate comparisons, comparisons of consequences experienced as a result of alcohol consumption, comparisons of alcohol expectancies, and comparisons of reported content of early recollections. Multiple regression analysis was utilized to test the extent to which select early recollections and alcohol expectancy scores contributed to the explained variance in alcohol consumption patterns.

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) among tuberculosis (TB) patients are associated with nonadherence and poor treatment outcomes. We developed a multidisciplinary model to manage AUDs among TB patients in Tomsk, Russia. First, we assessed current standards of care through stakeholder meetings and ethnographic work. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was incorporated into routine assessment of all patients starting TB treatment. We established treatment algorithms based on AUDIT scores. We then hired specialists and addressed licensing requirements to provide on-site addictions care. Our experience offers a successful model in the management of co-occurring AUDs among patients with chronic medical problems.

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between pregnant teens' use of alcohol before and during pregnancy and several personal and social variables, including the wantedness of the pregnancy, support of the pregnancy by significant others, pregnant teens' reasons for drinking, the context of their drinking, and the use of alcohol by significant others. This information is needed to plan and evaluate effective prenatal education and intervention programs related to the use of alcohol during pregnancy. Such programs are important in light of increasing numbers of pregnant teens, the number of female adolescent drinkers, and findings about the effects of moderate and binge drinking on fetal development. Subjects consisted of 14 to 19 year old patients of the High-Risk Ob/Gyn Clinic at Roanoke Memorial Hospitals. These patients were predominantly low income urban and suburban teens, with some referrals from areas outside Roanoke City and County. Subjects responded anonymously to a written questionnaire. One-fourth of the subjects were classified as drinkers according to their binge drinking before and during pregnancy. Higher percentages of drinkers than abstainers were white, married, had been pregnant at least once in the past, and intended to become pregnant. Proportionately fewer drinkers indicated religious preferences or attended church services on a regular basis. Drinkers were more likely to smoke and smoked more than abstainers. Personal effects reasons for drinking, consumption in settings where adults were not present, and weekly consumption by peers and boyfriends/husbands were reported by significantly higher percentages of drinkers than nondrinkers. Wantedness and support of significant others were significantly related. Knowledge of the potential harm that all types of alcoholic beverages pose to fetal development was reported by over 70% of the sample. Key sources of knowledge about alcohol and fetal risk were subjects' mothers, pamphlets or books, school health class, the RMH Clinic and television. Boyfriends were also a key source of information for drinkers. Implications of these findings for clinical and educational practice are discussed. / Ed. D.

No description available.

Note: title page missing

Text includes English and Spanish versions of questionaires and consent forms.

No description available.