Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / This aim of this study was to investigate the life experiences of substance abusing women participating in a substance abuse treatment programme in the Cape Town area. Much of the research that has been conducted on this topic has been quantitative and therefore removed from the context of lived experience. The current study thus aimed to fill this gap in the literature by using a qualitative methodology to explore women’s own accounts of substance use and how they make sense of these experiences, their trajectory towards substance abuse as well as their motivation for treatment. A qualitative research design was employed, drawing on the interpretive framework which seeks to understand how people make sense of their experiences. Six participants were recruited from a substance abuse treatment centre in Cape Town and data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Guba and Lincoln’s guidelines for ensuring rigor in qualitative studies were followed and the ethical principles of informed consent, non-maleficence, authenticity of data and anonymity were maintained throughout the study. The study found that partner substance use and psychological pain experienced by the women played a motivating role in their substance use. In addition, the reconstruction of one’s own identity, perceptions of motherhood and mending relationships were found to be key elements in women’s motivation for recovery.

No description available.

As the title suggests, this is a collection of essays about addiction and recovery, told from my personal perspective. In recovery, we have a saying: “Once a pickle, you can’t go back to a cucumber.” That is, just because one stops using drugs, does not mean their addictive personality is somehow vanquished. Even though I have not used drugs or alcohol in over eight years, I still very much identify as a person who is in recovery from addiction and alcoholism. This collection is about my life as an addict and alcoholic, both before and after getting clean, and the transformation required to bridge these two very different existences. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (MFA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This article focuses on exposure to violence and violence-related activities (i.e., crime and drug use) in 70 children whose mothers are addicted to alcohol or other drugs and explores maternal characteristics associated with violence exposure. Results suggest that exposure to violence is relatively common for these children, with many exposed to repeated violence in both the home and community. Findings also suggest higher levels of exposure to violence among children whose mothers reported fewer symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and held beliefs and attitudes about child rearing that have been associated with abusive and neglectful parenting. Levels of violence exposure were also higher when mothers reported more severe drug use in the recent past. These findings point to the need for assessment and treatment for children whose mothers abuse alcohol and other drugs.

A significant number of American teens use and abuse illicit and addictive substances. The year 2010 will witness the largest numbers of adolescents in American history, so there is a clear need to improve our understanding of adolescent substance abuse disorders (SUDs) and to provide effective prevention and treatment. This review provides an examination of the scope of the problem, the progression of adolescent SUD, and developmental and risk factors that are unique to adolescents. It also discusses assessment, treatment, and prevention models available for adolescent SUD.

A thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2019. / This study explored substance abuse among high school learners in King Cetshwayo district. The main concern, on which this study was based, was on the rise in substance abuse by high school learners and the risk behaviours associated with it in spite of all endeavours being made against substance abuse by various non-governmental organisations and the government. Owing to the fact that all these endeavours did not seem to show expected results, the researcher felt that there was a need to look at substance abuse from an Afrocentric perspective. This study was motivated among others, by Afrocentric theory of Asante which emphasises the African identity from the perspective of African people as centred, located, oriented, and grounded and stresses the dire need for African people to be re-located historically, economically, socially, politically, educationally and philosophically. It was again also based on Bowen family systems theory, which is about the emotional functioning of the human species. This study adopted a mixed method approach making use of both qualitative and quantitative methods. Questionnaires were utilised for quantitative data collection and interviews were utilised to gather qualitative data from primary respondents (learners), parents and educators. The findings of the study revealed that the main substances of abuse by learners in King Cetshwayo district were cigarettes at 83%; alcohol at 64% and dagga at 27%. It was found that 77% of the learners were found to be influenced by friends or peers to abuse substances. The findings also revealed that learners were involved in substance abuse because of stress caused by parent-child relationships and stigmatisation both by parents and educators who failed to support them. It was also revealed that the family structure plays a role in substance abuse since 30% of the learners stay with their mothers only. The lack of role models in the community was one of the causes for learners’ abuse of substances. It was recommended that parent-child relationships be strengthened and that parents should teach their children about substance abuse and be role models to their children. Parents should again educate their children about African values and morals before they commence with schooling. Educators should also be skilled on how to reverse moral regeneration by focussing on Afrocentric norms and values to be emulated by learners. An Afrocentric model of understanding substance abuse should be adopted. This model is based on the idea that if people who are concerned with the development of a child, can be embedded with African morals and values and be empowered with the necessary skills, they can be in a better position to assist learners to fight against substance abuse.

The International School Project (ISP) developed a culturally-relevant intervention entitled The Future Begins Today (FBT) to address the need for school-based substance abuse prevention in Ukraine. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with control group design, this study evaluated the effectiveness of this intervention in regards to impact on attitudes and refusal self-efficacy. The study hypothesized that exposure to the FBT intervention would significantly increase adolescents' perceived harm of substance use and perceived ability to refuse drug offers. Students from three schools in Drohobych (N = 173) participated in the study between September and December 2013, with seven classes (n = 124) enrolled in the FBT course and three classes (n = 49) in the control group. Both groups were tested in September and December. ANOVA results suggested that between September and December, students in the FBT program statistically significantly increased their perceived harm of occasional substance use and perceived ability to refuse drug offers. There was no significant change in students' perceived harm of frequent use. Moreover, the extent to which FBT supplementary materials were incorporated also related positively with program outcomes. Qualitative data from follow-up written interviews supported these findings. Regression analyses showed that older students were less likely to perceive substance use as harmful. There were no significant relationships between program outcomes and gender, positive family influence, or negative peer influence. Relevance to the existing literature and recommendations for future research are discussed.

No description available.

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Background: Substances abuse is affecting many young people in rural communities of Limpopo Province. There are no effective measures to combat substance abuse. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen substance abuse prevention and treatment services through the integration of indigenous health care practices. The Indigenous Health Practitioners Act No.22 of 2007 permits IHPs to provide prevention and treatment services to combat substance abuse. However, there is a lack of literature on the roles of IHPs in combating substance abuse. This paucity of literature necessitates the need to explore the perceived roles of IHPs in combating substance abuse. Objectives: The study aimed at exploring the perceived roles of IHPs in combating substance abuse at Mohodi Ga-Manthata in Limpopo Province. Method: A qualitative research approach using a case study design was conducted among IHPs of RDHA at Mohodi Ga-Manthata in Molemole Local Municipality of Limpopo Province. The purposive sampling technique was used in order to select IHPs that serve the aims of the study best to ensure that data saturation was reached. Data was collected through semi-structured one-to-one interviews with selected IHPs. Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework for doing a thematic analysis was used to analyse data. An independent coder confirmed the findings. Results: The study findings revealed that IHPs perform demand reduction activities such as conducting awareness campaigns and involving young people in sporting and behavioural sessions for prevention of substance abuse. Furthermore, the findings show that IHPs perform harm reduction activities such as assessment and diagnosis, in-patient rehabilitation, counselling, diet therapy and prescription of indigenous medicines for treatment of substance abuse. Conclusion: The Indigenous Health Practitioners Act No.22 of 2007 permits IHPs to provide prevention and treatment services to combat substance abuse. The current study shows that IHPs have a significant role in demand reduction, harm reduction and supply reduction of substance abuse in rural communities. Therefore, there is a need for the Departments of Health and Department of Social Development to develop strategies to effectively train and integrate IHPs into the health system to ensure the provision of quality substance abuse continuum of care services and the strengthening of the health system.

The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory was constructed to screen for substance abuse patterns despite non-admittance of respondents. Predictive validity studies of the SASSI are limited, and are not available for probationers. Participants were 147 male and 54 female probationers mandated to treatment. Overall differences among SASSI scales were significant for treatment compliance and outcome. Higher SASSI scales were found among those probationers who were compliant/successful. Individual scales were not significantly different, however, a trend was revealed; those respondents who scored higher tended to comply/succeed in treatment. The SASSI alone accurately classified 59.7% of respondents. In summary, the SASSI's use in predicting treatment outcome is limited and should be employed with concomitant data.