Thesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2010

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2009 / There is dearth of information about the extent of alcohol abuse by teenagers, focusing mainly on the volume and the frequency of alcohol intake by teenagers especially in a rural setting. Most notable contributions are descriptive in nature and rely on cross-sectional analysis, with little specific focus on rural teenage alcohol abuse. To bridge the gap, this study quantifies the extent of alcohol abuse by teenagers in rural areas by means of a case study in Lebitso Senior Secondary School situated in Mopani District of Limpopo Province. STUDY DESIGN A mixed approach was used with the quantitative method taking the upper hand because of the nature of the variables for the hypotheses formulated which required statistical procedures. Simple random sampling was used as the study was characterized by the representation of the learners of one senior secondary school to represent the homogeneous nature of teenagers in a similar setting, in Limpopo Province. RESULTS The study population consisted of 251 male and female teenage learners of Lebitso Senior Secondary School. In the exploration of alcohol abuse by teenagers, the availability of liquor outlets in respect of the teenagers’households, and the socio-economic status of their families were revealed to have a bearing on their abuse of alcohol. 93% of teenagers had liquor outlets near their places of residence. The study has also shown that 87% of male learners and 13% of female learners had access to finances, which influenced their behaviour towards the abuse of alcohol. CONCLUSION Among the recommendations were that Education, Health, Safety and Security Sectors were to join hands in order to come up with preventative measures to deal with this problem.

In the 21st century drug and alcohol abuse presents one of the most serious problems worldwide. Of particular concern is the strong relationship between drug use and crime. While law enforcement strategies, including incarceration, have been revealed to contribute little to break the vicious cycle of drug use and crime, substance abuse treatment has been shown to represent an effective form of intervention. Substantial research on the effectiveness of drug treatment has demonstrated the importance of motivation in predicting treatment retention and success. However, substance users are frequently coerced into therapy by external sources, including the criminal justice system, therefore, typically exhibiting little motivation to enter and remain in treatment long enough to overcome their substance addiction. Although past research investigating the effects of treatment-entry coercion indicates positive treatment results, the vast majority of these studies are seriously impeded by extensive conceptual and methodological problems, questioning the postulated value of coercion in substance abuse treatment. Following the call for a shift in the methodological focus of future studies made by some researchers, the author of the present study tested three models that were based on well-established theories. The first model was based on Self Determination Theory (SDT), a motivational theory, while the second model was based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), an expectancy-value theory. The third model consisted of a combination of the two theories, which was argued to provide a more complete and comprehensive model than each theory on its own. The testing of the models allowed the exploration of the dynamic interplay and relationships between a number of variables including perceptions of coercion, motivation, perceived autonomy support, and behavioural intentions in an effort to explain and predict retention and treatment outcomes amongst drug and alcohol abusers. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 involved the development of a 29-item instrument called the Perceived Coercion Questionnaire, which was designed to assess participants' perceptions of coercion to enter drug and alcohol treatment originating from six different sources. The scale was shown to be a valid and reliable measure of the coercion construct. Phase 2 involved the testing of the three models longitudinally by using a sample of 350 substance abusers from six therapeutic communities across Australia. Participants were asked to complete a battery of standardised measures within the first two weeks of treatment admission (Time 1), two months into treatment (Time 2), and at completion of the treatment program (Time 3). The models were tested cross-sectionally and longitudinally employing hierarchical multiple regression analysis. In addition, change scores were calculated to test whether changes in predictor variables would predict outcomes and changes in outcomes cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Analyses of Time 1 and Time 2 cross-sectional data revealed that the SDT model, compared to the TPB and the combined model, provided a better and more parsimonious account of the factors that influence outcomes in therapeutic community treatment. Given the complexity of the study, it was decided to resume the analysis by focusing on the investigation of the SDT model alone. To highlight some of the most important findings, results demonstrated that motivation was a key factor in the treatment and rehabilitation of substance users. As anticipated, intrinsic motivation was consistently predictive of retention and more positive treatment outcomes, while external motivation and amotivation were associated with more negative outcomes. Results also revealed that clients who entered treatment as the result of a legal mandate experienced substantially higher levels of legal coercion compared to clients who entered treatment voluntarily. Legal coercion, in turn, was found to exert a negative impact on substance users' motivation for treatment, thereby indirectly resulting in more negative treatment outcomes. In contrast, self coercion (i.e., feelings of pain and suffering) and health-related pressures seemed to facilitate the development of a more intrinsic motivational attitude towards treatment. Besides, perceptions of competence and control in relation to the therapeutic regime emerged as consistent and important predictors of motivation and treatment outcomes. Finally, findings suggested that treatment staff who employed more autonomous and non-coercive strategies that guided substance users through the change process directly influenced individuals' treatment motivation and thereby facilitated more positive treatment outcomes. In sum, findings provided support for the usefulness of the SDT model in predicting dropout as well as processes and outcomes in therapeutic community drug and alcohol treatment. Implications for residential substance abuse treatment were discussed, as well as the strengths and limitations of the study. The discussion concludes with implications for practice and suggestions for future research.

<p>Several Swedish studies have suggested that within the group of clients contacting social welfare offices for social assistance, approximately one third are having problems with heavy drinking. The overall aim of the dissertation was to study how social workers approach these problems in single, male clients. That is; are the drinking problems of these clients approached and if they are, when and why does this happen? The subject has been investigated in four studies. In study I (n=66) and II (n=103) social workers were to respond, in a written questionnaire, on how they would act on a hypothetical client described in vignettes. The results from these studies suggest that there is no consensus among social workers of how to act towards the clients drinking problem and that social workers personal values seem to influence their choice of action taken. In study III, data was collected from case files on male single clients in nine municipalities. Case files in which alcohol related notes were present (n=297) were investigated. The results indicate that social workers are more active as regards demands on clients to moderate or stop their alcohol consumption if the clients are able to work, than if they are not. Study IV was based on focus-group interviews in eight municipalities. In each municipality, a work group of social workers dealing with social assistance were interviewed on one occasion. The social workers approach to the client’s problems was described as a mobile point within a two-dimensional system. The legislative dimension concerned the clients’ right to be equally treated versus the right to have their application judged individually with every circumstance considered. The other dimension was related to traditional social work with the client’s integrity versus the need for support and control. The results were contextualised mainly from three aspects, the influence from raised demands on a “knowledge-based” practice, the prerequisites consistent of the specific frames for social work and changes in the public discourse constituting the frame of socially acceptable drinking habits.</p>

<p>Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka missbrukande kvinnors tankar kring och upplevelser av samhällets och nätverkets bemötande samt attityder till kvinnligt missbruk. För att besvara uppsatsens frågeställningar genomfördes fem intervjuer med kvinnor som missbrukat främst alkohol. I analysen granskades resultatet utifrån genusperspektiv, stämplingsteori samt teorier om bemötande. Då det inte fanns någon tidigare forskning som direkt berörde studiens syfte användes närliggande forskning. Den tidigare forskningen visade att män och kvinnor i vårt samhälle bemöts på olika sätt. Denna studie fokuserade på de missbrukande kvinnornas upplevelser av bemötande och var ingen jämförande studie mellan kvinnor och män. Genusforskningen har lett till att kvinnors missbruk lyfts fram, vilket i sin tur har bidragit till nya behandlingsalternativ. Trots detta ses det kvinnliga missbruket fortfarande som normbrytande i vårt samhälle. Dessa icke tillåtande attityder till kvinnligt missbruk kan vara en orsak till att denna studies respondenter utvecklade olika strategier för att dölja sina missbruk. Studiens resultat visade att kvinnorna oftast upplevde sig ha blivit positivt bemötta men genomgående i resultatet framkom även exempel på negativt bemötande från så väl nätverk som professionella. Studien visade att professionellas och nätverkets bemötande är betydelsefullt för ett framgångsrikt förändringsarbete vilket pekar på att mer forskning kring ämnet behövs.</p> / <p>The object of this qualitative study was to examine how female addicts feel about their experiences of treatment from society, family and friends. To answer the questions at issue, five women were interviewed. In the analysis the result was reviewed on the basis of gender perspective, sociology of deviance and theories about treatment. Since there was no previous research to be found about this subject, contiguous research had to be used. The previous research showed that women and men in our society are treated differently. The focus of this study was the women’s experiences of treatment and does not compare the differences between women and men. The research of gender has brought attention to substance abusing women and has also led to new forms of treatment. Despite this, female addiction is still being viewed as violation of the standards in our society. These impermissible attitudes about female addiction could be a reason why the respondents of this study developed different strategies in effort to hide their addictions. The result of this study showed that these women have been treated in a positive way most of the time, but consistently the result also showed that these women have been treated in a negative way by family, friends and professionals. This study showed that the treatment from professionals, family and friends is of great importance for the women in their struggle to stay free from substance abuse. This study showed that more research about this subject is needed.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-204).

Several Swedish studies have suggested that within the group of clients contacting social welfare offices for social assistance, approximately one third are having problems with heavy drinking. The overall aim of the dissertation was to study how social workers approach these problems in single, male clients. That is; are the drinking problems of these clients approached and if they are, when and why does this happen? The subject has been investigated in four studies. In study I (n=66) and II (n=103) social workers were to respond, in a written questionnaire, on how they would act on a hypothetical client described in vignettes. The results from these studies suggest that there is no consensus among social workers of how to act towards the clients drinking problem and that social workers personal values seem to influence their choice of action taken. In study III, data was collected from case files on male single clients in nine municipalities. Case files in which alcohol related notes were present (n=297) were investigated. The results indicate that social workers are more active as regards demands on clients to moderate or stop their alcohol consumption if the clients are able to work, than if they are not. Study IV was based on focus-group interviews in eight municipalities. In each municipality, a work group of social workers dealing with social assistance were interviewed on one occasion. The social workers approach to the client’s problems was described as a mobile point within a two-dimensional system. The legislative dimension concerned the clients’ right to be equally treated versus the right to have their application judged individually with every circumstance considered. The other dimension was related to traditional social work with the client’s integrity versus the need for support and control. The results were contextualised mainly from three aspects, the influence from raised demands on a “knowledge-based” practice, the prerequisites consistent of the specific frames for social work and changes in the public discourse constituting the frame of socially acceptable drinking habits.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka missbrukande kvinnors tankar kring och upplevelser av samhällets och nätverkets bemötande samt attityder till kvinnligt missbruk. För att besvara uppsatsens frågeställningar genomfördes fem intervjuer med kvinnor som missbrukat främst alkohol. I analysen granskades resultatet utifrån genusperspektiv, stämplingsteori samt teorier om bemötande. Då det inte fanns någon tidigare forskning som direkt berörde studiens syfte användes närliggande forskning. Den tidigare forskningen visade att män och kvinnor i vårt samhälle bemöts på olika sätt. Denna studie fokuserade på de missbrukande kvinnornas upplevelser av bemötande och var ingen jämförande studie mellan kvinnor och män. Genusforskningen har lett till att kvinnors missbruk lyfts fram, vilket i sin tur har bidragit till nya behandlingsalternativ. Trots detta ses det kvinnliga missbruket fortfarande som normbrytande i vårt samhälle. Dessa icke tillåtande attityder till kvinnligt missbruk kan vara en orsak till att denna studies respondenter utvecklade olika strategier för att dölja sina missbruk. Studiens resultat visade att kvinnorna oftast upplevde sig ha blivit positivt bemötta men genomgående i resultatet framkom även exempel på negativt bemötande från så väl nätverk som professionella. Studien visade att professionellas och nätverkets bemötande är betydelsefullt för ett framgångsrikt förändringsarbete vilket pekar på att mer forskning kring ämnet behövs. / The object of this qualitative study was to examine how female addicts feel about their experiences of treatment from society, family and friends. To answer the questions at issue, five women were interviewed. In the analysis the result was reviewed on the basis of gender perspective, sociology of deviance and theories about treatment. Since there was no previous research to be found about this subject, contiguous research had to be used. The previous research showed that women and men in our society are treated differently. The focus of this study was the women’s experiences of treatment and does not compare the differences between women and men. The research of gender has brought attention to substance abusing women and has also led to new forms of treatment. Despite this, female addiction is still being viewed as violation of the standards in our society. These impermissible attitudes about female addiction could be a reason why the respondents of this study developed different strategies in effort to hide their addictions. The result of this study showed that these women have been treated in a positive way most of the time, but consistently the result also showed that these women have been treated in a negative way by family, friends and professionals. This study showed that the treatment from professionals, family and friends is of great importance for the women in their struggle to stay free from substance abuse. This study showed that more research about this subject is needed.

We are aware of the fact that elderly people suffering from alcoholism doesn’t stop their be-haviour the day they turn 65. But when they do turn 65, they might become a case for social workers who only handle cases regarding people over 65, and we wanted to find out if they have any experience of working with elderly who have problems related to alcohol. We de-cided that a group interview, a focus group, would be the best method when our purpose was to try discovering their own experiences, so we interviewed seven social workers in the Stockholm area. The interview was based on four main questions: the social workers experi-ences, difficulties in the cases, how to handle the difficulties and how the social workers talk about these cases among themselves. These questions were analysed with the theory of social construction, Bourdieu´s theory of doxa and Goffman´s theory of stigma. The analyse showed that the social workers had experience but that they didn’t want more recourses, they wanted a cooperation with social workers who specializes on clients with alcohol related problems. They currently focus on the individual, not the alcohol issue which we believe might be a problem in the future.

The purpose of this study was to investigate a nursing home for people who were previously homeless. The study was based on a case study done on the nursing home Gamlebo. The fol-lowing questions were asked, (1) What conditions apply for the job? (2) How is work carried out ? (3) What are the needs of the residents at Gamlebo? (4) What distinguishes Gamlebo from other nursing homes for older people? A qualitative approach was used along with semi-structured interviews. The theory was made with standard theory. The results showed that the staff at Gamlebo had the potential to work through clear guide-lines that took into account the residents' individual needs. Work was conducted with individ-ual solutions and most importantly a good treatment. A good treatment was according to the staff crucial when working with the residents. The residents were characterized by their homelessness and had a distrust of society. To create trust towards the residents was therefore crucial and to wait out the residents own will. What distinguishes Gamlebo from other tradi-tional nursing homes is that the staff has the expertise and experience to meet older people who have been homeless in their own terms.