No description available.

This interpretive description qualitative study explores the perceptions of alcohol use among South Asian (SA) Punjabi affected family members (AFMs) and their experiences with problem drinking from a Canadian community context. It is important to recognize the SA Punjabi community’s perceptions of alcohol use in order to develop a foundational understanding of this phenomenon from a socio-cultural perspective, an area of research that remains poorly understood. This preliminary investigation provides relevant contextual information to deepen our understanding of the experiences of SA Punjabi AFMs. Fourteen SA Punjabi AFMs were interviewed in both English and Punjabi. Analysis of participant narratives reveals five major themes: normalization of the SA Punjabi drinking culture; socio-cultural gender norms of alcohol consumption; socio-cultural gender related tolerance towards problem drinking; my relative’s drinking is the elephant in the room and I feel helpless and stuck. One of the themes, my relative’s drinking is the elephant in the room, had three sub-themes: fear of social judgement; fear of causing additional problems and fear of the relative. Interpretation of the participant experiences was facilitated through the use of the Stress-Strain-Coping-Support model (SSCS) (Orford, Velleman, Natera., et al., 2013). Participant stories highlight the unique socio-cultural experiences of SA Punjabi AFMs impacted by problem drinking. Findings from this study suggest a need for culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health and addictions supports for this community as they navigate the challenges of problem drinking within their families. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

OBJECTIVE: Amongst college students there exists a concerning trend towards problem drinking owed to the cultures on campus that support problem drinking habits. Several interventions are currently used to encourage students to drink wisely with the goal of decreasing this problem drinking and the consequences of these behaviors. The current study analyzes the intention to use Protective Behavior Strategies through the model suggested in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). METHOD: College student participants (N = 171) completed a web-based survey examining alcohol-related behaviors, intentions, and perceptions at the time of the survey and over the next four weeks. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: At step 1, PBS intentions was regressed onto age and gender. This accounted for a small amount of variance in intentions. Next, the TPB predictors were added to the model which resulted in a significant improvement in the overall model fit. In the final model, perceived control over PBS use and peer PBS use norms were significant positive predictors of PBS use intentions. Attitudes toward PBS did not predict PBS use intentions.

Difficulties in interpersonal functioning have been consistently reported in the literature as a proposed negative outcome for adult children of problem drinkers. The existing literature has largely privileged the quantitative paradigm, which has conceptualised this group's relationship functioning through theoretically driven categories and concepts. The result has been a predominantly negative picture lacking utility, as well as neglecting important contextual processes and the inherent complexity and fluidity of human relationships. The aim of this study was to gain a richer understanding through exploring adult children of problem drinkers lived experience of relationships. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six individuals who grew up with at least one problem drinking parent. Transcripts of the interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Four main themes emerged across participants accounts: 'Moving from 'bewilderment' to seeking clarity and stability in relationships', 'Remembering feeling unsafe and finding safety in relationships', 'Moving from invisibility towards finding a sense of self' and 'Making a choice to change my relationships'. The findings offer an alternative understanding of this group's experiences of relationships which are discussed in relation to the existing literature. Clinical Implications and suggestions for further research are considered.

No description available.

Parental problem drinking (PPD) is associated with various forms of child psychopathology, including hyperactivity, conduct disorder, delinquency, depression and anxiety. However, not all children share the same risk for developing adjustment problems in the context of PPD. In this study, we examined patterns of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity account for differential susceptibility to the adverse effects of PPD in middle childhood. We found that reciprocal SNS activation protects against child internalizing symptoms in the context of mother problem drinking. We also found consistent interactions between PNS and SNS in predicting child internalizing problems. Coinhibition is linked to more internalizing symptoms including anxiety and depression. This study provides further support for Autonomic Space Theory and demonstrates the importance of taking both PNS and SNS into account when studying physiological response to stress.

Due to societal and economic costs caused by compulsive consumption behavior, specifically problem drinking and overeating, a search has been launched for a cognitive explanation for the ‘deviant’ behaviors and the motivations that cause these behaviors to continue. This dissertation attempted to develop a better understanding of continued compulsive consumption behavior by investigating consumers’ use of the techniques of neutralization theory. Based on methodological concerns in neutralization research, the development of reliable and valid measures of the five techniques of neutralization theory were described and used to examine their moderation of compulsive consumption behavior and its relationship with social norm commitment and guilt. The dissertation resulted in developing four reliable and valid neutralization technique scales. The results of the structural model suggested a negative relationship between social norms and compulsive consumption behavior and a multiple regression indicated a partial moderation of certain neutralization techniques of this relationship. This dissertation has provided a better understanding of the cognitive process surrounding a consumer’s compulsive consumption behavior, the techniques used to allow the behavior to continue, and marketing applications to entice consumers to stop the behavior.

There is a strong association between alcohol and relationship problems, with each problem exacerbating the other. In this program of research two studies were conducted. The first study was to investigate the variables that put couples at risk for developing a combination of relationship and alcohol problems. The second study was an evaluation of the effects of an integrated education program that promoted safe drinking and positive relationship interaction. Previous research shows that deficits in negative affect regulation and poor communication predict the onset of both relationship and alcohol problems. Based on these findings, it was hypothesized that deficits in communication exist in couples in which one or both partners drink at hazardous levels. In Study 1 communication of 85 couples (53 couples with no high-risk drinker and 32 couples with at least one at-risk drinker) in early stage committed relationships was assessed by observation of their interaction. Couples in which the man was drinking at hazardous levels had significantly more negative communication than couples without an at-risk drinker. In Study 2, 37 couples with at least one at-risk drinker were randomly assigned to either Controlling Alcohol and Relationship Enhancement (CARE) or a control condition. Couple communication, alcohol consumption, relationship satisfaction and relationship stability were assessed at pre- and post-intervention. Alcohol consumption, relationship satisfaction and relationship stability were also assessed at 6-month follow-up. Couples receiving CARE improved their communication significantly relative to the control couples. Couples in both conditions showed significant reductions in hazardous drinking, but there was no significant difference in the effects of the interventions on alcohol consumption. The program of research demonstrates that deficits in couple communication are evident in couples with hazardous male drinking, even in the early stage of the relationship when the couples report high relationship satisfaction. The communication deficits are remedied with brief, skill-training relationship education. Furthermore, there was evidence for the effects of CARE on reduction of steps towards relationship dissolution at 6-month follow-up. The brief alcohol component of the intervention showed little benefit beyond the control condition in terms of impact upon the alcohol problems. This research is the first to demonstrate that a combined program of skill-based relationship education and strategies for alcohol reduction is effective in remediating communication skills deficits in the early stage relationships of couples with hazardous alcohol consumption. Future research can extend this work to enable the development of programs which match the content of relationship education to the specific needs of other high-risk couples.

Alcohol use among college students is often in the news. Some scholars argue, with literature to support it, that problem drinking in college is just a media-driven myth (Lederman et al. 2004). Yet it is clear that college students do drink, some to excess. Various reasons are cited from alcohol availability to the "freedom" associated with this stage of life. However, very few researchers have attempted to determine whether religiosity affects alcohol use among college students. The purpose of this study was to further examine the combined issues of religiosity and alcohol use among college students. Is excessive use of alcohol during this time of life simply an adult transition issue, as Jackson et al. (2005) contend, or is there more to it? Research seems to point to the fact that religiosity plays a role. The primary hypothesis tested was that students who valued religious activities as part of their college experience would use alcohol less, including binge drinking, than those who did not. The second hypothesis tested was that students who valued parties and Greek life would use alcohol and binge more than students who did not. The data set used was constructed by the Harvard School of Public Health and included data from 120 four-year colleges and universities from throughout the United States. The analysis supported the hypothesis that religiosity was a factor in reduced alcohol use by college students. College students who valued religious activities drank less than those who did not. The study also supported the hypothesis that students who valued parties and Greek life drank more. The heaviest drinkers were those who valued parties. These results are highly significant given the size of the sample. No other study that looked at religiosity and alcohol use among college students used a sample this large. These results help us to better understand the negative association between religiosity and alcohol use among college students as well as the positive association between parties and alcohol use. They especially help us to formulate strategies that might be considered to alleviate problem drinking during this stage of life.