Exploring family and community involvement to protect Thai youths from alcohol and illegal drug abuse

Youth substance abuse is widely recognized as a major public health issue in Thailand. This study explores family and community risk and protective factors relevant to alcohol and illegal drug misuse in 1,778 Thai teenagers. Strong family attachment and a family history of antisocial behaviors were strongly associated with nearly all forms of substance abuse, with adjusted odds ratios ranging from 5.05 to 8.45. Community disorganization was strongly associated with self-reported substance use, although involvement in prosocial activities acted as a protective factor. The findings suggest that interventions that promote family cohesion and encourage community involvement may have considerable benefits in reducing substance abuse in Thai adolescents.

Consumo de drogas psicoactivas por adolescentes escolares de Assis, SP

To quantify psychoactive drug use and investigate use-related variables among students of Assis, Brazil, a questionnaire was administered to collect sociodemographic data and identify the pattern of non-medical use of psychoactive drugs in 20% of public and private school students. The largest consumption indexes for lifetime use were seen for alcohol (68.9%) and tobacco (22.7%). Drugs most often used were: solvents (10.0%); marijuana (6.6%); benzodiazepines (3.8%); amphetamines (2.6%); cocaine (1.6%); and anticholinergics (1.0%).

Childhood trauma in substance use disorder and depression: An analysis by gender among a Brazilian clinical sample

Objective: In this study, we compared the frequency and intensity of childhood traumas in alcohol- or other drug-dependent patients, in patients with depression, and in a control group without psychiatric diagnoses. Methods: The study had a retrospective design of a clinical sample of men and women from the groups listed above. They were evaluated by the same standardized instrument: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.. Results: A higher frequency and intensity of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse were found in alcohol- and other drug-dependent patients than in patients with depression, who, in turn, presented significantly higher proportions than the control group. In all of the cases, the frequency was higher among women than men. Conclusion: Because of the high frequency and intensity of childhood traumas among alcohol- or other drug-dependent patients and depressed patients, the assessment of problems due to childhood traumas among these patients is essential to a better understanding of the etiology of those disorders and to their treatment. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

O consumo de bebidas alcoólicas por estudantes do ensino médio e características do grupo de pares

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A avaliação da efetividade de um modelo de intervenção breve (método BASICS) para o uso de risco de álcool em estudantes do ensino médio

Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva - FMB

Gender parity and drug use: are girls catching up with boys?

Objective: To evaluate the association between gender and use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs in adolescents aged 10 to 18 years in the municipalities of Jacare and Diadema, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Methods: A total of 971 adolescents completed the Drug Use Screening Inventory (DUSI). Results: In our sample, 55% of adolescents were male, 33.8% reported having made use in the previous month of alcohol, 13.5% of cigarettes, and 6.4% of illicit drugs. There was no significant difference between genders in the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs in any of the analysis (p > 0.05). The use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs was associated with the city, age, educational level, school failure, and relationship with parents (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Substance abuse among adolescents in our sample seems to follow the recent global trend towards the equalization of drug use between genders. This result should be taken into account by public health professionals in developing policies for this problem. (C) 2012 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Patterns of alcohol and illicit substance use in the United States and Mexico. Substantive and methodologic issues in the cross-national analysis of alcohol and drug use data

This research examines prevalence of alcohol and illicit substance use in the United States and Mexico and associated socio-demographic characteristics. The sources of data for this study are public domain data from the U.S. National Household Survey of Drug Abuse, 1988 (n = 8814), and the Mexican National Survey of Addictions, 1988 (n = 12,579). In addition, this study discusses methodologic issues in cross-cultural and cross-national comparison of behavioral and epidemiologic data from population-based samples. The extent to which patterns of substance abuse vary among subgroups of the U.S. and Mexican populations is assessed, as well as the comparability and equivalence of measures of alcohol and drug use in these national samples.^ The prevalence of alcohol use was somewhat similar in the two countries for all three measures of use: lifetime, past year and past year heavy use, (85.0%, 68.1%, 39.6% and 72.6%, 47.7% and 45.8% for the U.S. and Mexico respectively). The use of illegal substances varied widely between countries, with U.S. respondents reporting significantly higher levels of use than their Mexican counterparts. For example, reported use of any illicit substance in lifetime and past year was 34.2%, 11.6 for the U.S., and 3.3% and 0.6% for Mexico. Despite these differences in prevalence, two demographic characteristics, gender and age, were important correlates of use in both countries. Men in both countries were more likely to report use of alcohol and illicit substances than women. Generally speaking, a greater proportion of respondents in both countries 18 years of age or older reported use of alcohol for all three measures than younger respondents; and a greater proportion of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 years reported use of illicit substances during lifetime and past year than any other age group.^ Additional substantive research investigating population-based samples and at-risk subgroups is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms of these associations. Further development of cross-culturally meaningful survey methods is warranted to validate comparisons of substance use across countries and societies. ^

Treatment for outpatients with comorbid schizophrenia and substance use disorders: a review

Aims: This review provides evidence of which interventions need to be part of effective outpatient integrated treatment for patients with comorbid schizophrenia and substance use disorders. Methods: A total of 14 randomized controlled trials were included. Effect sizes are provided to assess the magnitude of the treatments’ efficacy. Results: Despite the studies’ heterogeneity, we can conclude that certain programs (e.g., Behavioral Treatment for Substance Abuse in Schizophrenia) and specific interventions (e.g., motivational interviewing, family interventions) seem to be effective. Moreover, programs integrating multiple interventions are more likely to be positively related to better outcomes than single interventions. Finally, the lack of difference between effect sizes of assertive community treatment compared to case management suggests that a lower caseload is not necessary for positive treatment outcomes. Conclusion: Integrated treatment seems advantageous, although effect sizes are mostly modest. More homogeneous and qualitative sound studies are needed.

The Perpetration of Spousal Abuse by Male Combat Veterans: Recommendations for Individualized Group Domestic Violence Treatment for Veterans

Recent estimates suggest that spousal abuse is, in fact, on the rise in the U.S. military (The Miles Foundation, 2005). As research specific to the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on U.S. soldiers has grown since the Vietnam War, clinicians and researchers have begun to investigate how combat-related trauma affects veterans in terms of aggression, hostility and social/emotional functioning. The training and stressors experienced by soldiers in the military are unique and affect all aspects of the veteran's functioning. This paper discusses questions related to why combat veterans may be at increased risk to commit spousal abuse (verbal, psychological, and physical), the relationship between PTSD, substance use, and violence, and the advantages to individualizing group domestic violence (DV) treatment programs for combat veterans. Recommendations will be made for a DV treatment program specifically for combat veterans who also suffer from PTSD.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Increasing Psychologists' Willingness to Assess and Treat Substance-abusing Clients.

The high prevalence of substance abuse in the United States and the low rates of assessment and treatment of these disorders by mental health providers points to a growing need to understand the factors that prevent substance-abusing individuals from receiving adequate services. Psychologists are one group of mental health providers that show little interest in working with this population and receive little research attention on the topic. This paper explores the potential role that education, previous experience, and the impact that holding stigmatizing beliefs towards substance-abusing individuals has on psychologists' willingness to provide clinical services for clients struggling with addiction. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is explored as a potential intervention for psychologists.

The development and implementation of a new data collection instrument for the 1994 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse /

"April 1996"--T.p. verso.

Alcohol and drug abuse in medical education /

"Proceedings of the National Conference on Medical Education in Alcohol and Drug Abuse, jointly sponsored by the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse and the Career Teacher Program in Alcohol and Drug Abuse (ADAMHA) November 5-6, 1977, Washington, D.C.": p. 75-131.

Cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness research of drug abuse prevention : implications for programming and policy /

Shipping list no.: 99-0004-P.

Mortality data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2001.

"January 2003."