No description available.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in the Department of Social Work University of Zululand, South Africa, 1993. / This study analyses relapse behaviour among some African alcohol abusers and alcoholics in certain areas of the Lower Umfolozi Magisterial district- It also describes and examines the treatment approaches used professionally to deal with such clients/patients, as well as the institutional programmes available for them. An explorative-descriptive research approach was used. Data was gathered from both primary and secondary services. Interviewing was the major research technique used for collecting primary data. Structured and unstructured interviews were held with clients/patients, some family members, and a few professional people. The researcher intended to obtain a comprehensive picture of the problem. The field study was undertaken over a three months period. Literature study and perusal of files stretched over a year to gain familiarity with the subject under study. A sample of eighty respondents was selected through the simple random procedure using a table of random numbers. A comprehensive interview schedule consisting of mainly closed-ended questions soliciting information on (i) family of the respondent client/patient, (ii) the influence of friends on his/her behaviour, (iii) relation to work, (iv) the type and extent of professional help received by the client/patient, and (v) the respondent's feelings about his condition was also used. The data obtained was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings indicated that there were more male alcoholics and alcohol abusers compared to females. The majority of the client/patient respondents were relatively young. below the age of forty years. They were mainly the minimally or lower educated people. Many of them were either married or had been married- The majority had, of course, lost their employment, or had been unemployed for a long time. The problem of alcohol abuse and alcoholics is complicated both for the client/patient, his family his/her immediate social and work environment. The response of treatment programmes both at in-patient and out-patient levels had not produced the desired results. Co-ordination of treatment services and a strong functional network of services and support did not appear to be clearly available for these African clients and patients. Culturally related, and sensitive treatment by professionally social workers was not as yet practised. A clear focus on these clients/patients as a special category was not evident. They did not appear to identify with any particular service point or structure as a helping medium for them. A lot still needs to be done to organize and distribute the services for these clients/patients. All the problems cited above receive the recommendation of the study. Further in-depth research on the treatment procedures and programmes for these clients/patients are clearly indicated.

This thesis examines the possibilities of living an authentic life for an alcoholic, both in and out of Alcoholics Anonymous. Authenticity is explored using the existential models put forth by Jean-Paul Sartre and Soren Kierkegaard. Alcoholics Anonymous figures prominently in this analysis. It is suggested that A.A. acts inauthentically in its claims that it is not a religious organization. A.A. creates special problems for female alcoholics because of the sexist and masculinist nature of its primary literature. While A.A. claims that its message is the only way by which an alcoholic can recover, other treatment methods exist. Suggestions are made that A.A. revise its main texts, and two alternative organizations to A.A. are briefly discussed.

No description available.

Change and stability on identity and family self indicators, first studied in 1989, are documented among 54 women aged 47.26 (SD=8.44) years; 26 of these women were interviewed in 1997 as well. The present study examined daughters' perceptions of relationships with parents and their influences on women's identities, self-perceptions, and vulnerabilities to distress. Categorizing women by parents' alcoholism status and respondents' concurrent therapeutic activities explained a modest proportion of variance on identity and family self in 1989. By 1997 there were no longer significant differences between alcoholics' daughters and nonalcoholics' daughters. Variance attributable to 1989 group categorization was considerably reduced. Phenomenological themes revealed among daughters' reflections included the importance of parents' time and attention with striking differences on relating with parents in alcoholics' families and nonalcoholics' families. Essential features of perspective taking experiences explain similarities and differences in daughters' felt closeness to parents influencing women's identities, self-perceptions, and therapeutic activities. Incongruity between sociocultural ideals and lived experience evidently exacerbate women's existential struggles. / Ph. D.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Abstinence used to be the only recommended goal for persons affected with alcohol misuse. In recent years there has been a trend to suggest controlled drinking for some alcohol abusers. The comparison of abstinence versus controlled drinking indicates that controlled drinking goals have proved to be successful in a limited attempt with problem drinkers having middle income, average intelligence, stable job and adequate social support system. Severely dependent alcoholics (gamma type) have been trained in some instances to control their drinking in a laboratory environment, but their control erodes over time. The controlled drinking controversy has partly to do with different theoretical perspectives on alcoholism, but part of it has to do with the issue of territoriality. What is needed at this point is an effective and thorough evaluation of a variety of alcohol-treatment programs with a variety of problem drinkers and alcoholics. In this endeavor a research design is proposed as an extension and improvement over the existing research methods on the comparative suitability of abstinence versus controlled drinking.

Background: A wealth of quantitative literature exists exploring the impact of parental alcohol misuse on adult and child offspring. It is often proposed that children of alcoholics are at risk of experiencing a host of negative outcomes, many of which are said to persist into adulthood. Confusing and contradictory results have led researchers to identify a subset of offspring deemed to be resilient. Little remains known about the factors that influence who becomes negatively affected and who becomes resilient, or how these factors are experienced by individuals. The recent up rise of qualitative methodologies also suggest this divide is not clear, with offspring of alcoholics demonstrating a range of functioning. Aim: With this in mind, the current study aims to explore the lived experience of adult children of alcoholics to gather a richer understanding of how these individuals develop into the people they are today. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six individuals who grew up with at least one alcoholic parent. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse verbatim transcripts. Results: The analysis produced four master themes. These were: ‘Dealing with the loss of connection to parents’, ‘Feeling hopeless and helpless’, Struggling to stay sane’ and ‘I know who I want to be more than I know who I am’. The master themes and corresponding subordinate themes are discussed in relation to the relevant literature. Clinical implications, methodological considerations and directions for future research are also presented. Conclusions: This study provided insight into the lived experience of being an adult child of an alcoholic. It highlighted the challenges and struggles they faced in childhood and the ways in which they battled to overcome the difficulties they experienced to forge a preferred identity in adulthood. It also emphasised the importance of perceived parental rejection as the pathway to causing distress and the desire to be better than their parents as a pathway to resiliency.

The specific purpose of this study was to try and understand why unique experiences of living with an alcoholic parent could create developmental deficits which emotionally challenge COAs' when faced with the life lessons a college environment offers. This study offered four possible explanations for experiencing challenges in its theoretical background: (1) psychosocial development, (2) the epistemology of alcoholism and its effects on the family, (3) personality development and the concurrence of building resilience, and (4) the college environment itself, with the phenomenon of binge drinking--forcing COAs to confront family alcoholism. A total of 7 participated in this study--4 men and 3 women. Despite the dynamic differences in the answers overall, all 7 participants acknowledged one important concept. When the participants were asked about their own drinking habits, each participant said, though in different ways, they had to be careful with their drinking habits. Participants seemed to be aware that whether alcoholism is genetic or a learned addiction, they were at risk of becoming alcoholics themselves. This study found overall, as previous literature suggests, no matter how COAs are studied, they are found to be a heterogeneous population. Specifically, this study's results points out that they are indeed heterogeneous, yet similar in that all participants in this study, it could be argued, exhibit some vulnerability in regard to parental alcoholism.

The treatment of alcoholism has had a unique historical development in the United States. This study provides a chronology of how the problem of alcoholism was defined and handled during various time periods in United States history. The process that evolved resulted in an abstinence based, comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of alcoholism as a primary disease based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. This treatment modality, that developed outside of established medicine, is currently used by the majority of treatment providers. Seven individuals who have been actively involved in alcoholism treatment were interviewed. In addition to archival research, biographies and autobiographies were examined to gain a broad perspective. Because alcoholism is both a collective and an individual problem an effort was made to include a microsociological frame of reference within a broad sociological view. Alcoholism, or inebriety, was first perceived as a legal and moral problem. By the end of the 19th century, inebriety was recognized as an illness differing from mental illness, and separate asylums were established for its treatment. Alcoholism is currently accepted and treated as a primary disease by the majority of social institutions, but the legal and moral implications remain. National Prohibition in the early part of the 20th century targeted alcohol instead of the alcoholic delaying any progress toward treatment which was made in the 19th century. The advent of Alcoholics Anonymous brought the first widely accepted hope for alcoholics. The treatment process that developed utilized the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous in a setting of shared recovery which has been difficult to quantify. In 1970 the allocation of federal funds for treatment and research brought the involvement of new disciplines creating both conflicts and possibilities. Alcoholism recovery has elucidated the connection of mind, body, and spirit.