Social Work Commons^™

Evaluating Program And Client Characteristics Associated With Early Dropout In An Outpatient Drug And Alcohol Clinic: A Restrospective Study, Marlene Fern Clark

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Recognizing Gender Differences: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Substance Abuse Treatment Programs, Judyth Lynne Scott, Linda Diane Pettine

Theses Digitization Project

This study explored the treatment of women's substance abuse from a critical theory perspective. The literature indicates that, within substance abuse treatment programs and in the research world, few treatment programs are sensitive to women's specific needs.

Coherency Among Substance Abuse Models, Stephen Kauffman, John Poulin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social policy decisions are often made based upon socially constructed models of human behavior. As such, understanding the social constructions in a given policy area is of utmost importance. This study examines three competing models within the substance abuse area: the moral model, the disease model, and the biopsychosocial model. Utilizing survey data from a random sample telephone survey of 1,019 residents of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the study examines a) the degree to which individual models are internally consistent between beliefs about causes and beliefs about solutions, b) whether the assumptions in competing models are in fact different; and c) …

An Exploratory Study Of Heroin Addicts' Perceptions Of Methadone Treatment, Sandra Ellen Nehring

Theses Digitization Project

Methadone treatment continues to be the most widely used treatment modality for heroin addiction despite continued controversy. The efficacy of methadone treatment has been determined primarily by statistical research of program outcomes. This study explored heroin addicts' perceptions of methadone treatment.

A Pre-Test/Post-Test Analysis Of Value, Behavioral And Spritual Changes In Drug Treatment, Ralph Olav Jacobsson

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Factors Affecting Hispanic Adolescent Substance Abuse, Patricia Joanne Williams

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Literature Of Change: Slave Narrative Rhetoric In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Andrew Jack Loverde

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Correlation Study Of Methamphetamine Abuse And Resultant Levels Of Child Neglect, Marjorie Nodelman-Niedringhaus

Theses Digitization Project

This positivist research project will attempt to show a correlation between levels of child neglect and proportionate levels of methamphetamine abuse. The term abuse will be used to refer to the chronic, compulsive use of methamphetamine in such a manner, that it will assume a central and negative role in the individual's life style and will result in impaired functioning and parenting.

Examination Of The Link Between Primary Drug Of Choice And Ethnic Origin In Male Military Veterans, Karen Louise Hanna

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Research Study On Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Miriam Irvin, Wilma Shepard

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Defining Success: The Politics Of Evaluation In Alcohol And Drug Abuse Treatment Programs, James L. Wolk, David J. Hartmann, William P. Sullivan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs must respond to several important stakeholders or beneficiaries of services who have an investment in how success is defined. Utilizing data from recent statewide studies of treatment outcomes of alcohol and drug abuse services, this paper concludes that a strict adherence to an abstinence-only model of success, rigidly adopted by many in the treatment industry is counterproductive. Multiple measures of success are essential to fully understand and assess a changing model of intervention in the chemical dependency field.

Social Work, Social Science And The Disease Concept: New Directions For Addiction Treatment, Douglas Frans

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The perception of alcoholism and other substance abuse disorders as disease entities is a view ardently defended not only among chemical dependency professionals but, increasingly, by the general public as well. Over the past two decades, this perspective has also become so ensconced within the addiction treatment industry that alternative interventions are almost nonexistent even though evidence of their effectiveness is available (Miller & Hester, 1989). And yet, "no leading research authorities accept the classic disease concept" (Fingarette, 1988, p. 3). Competing views are generally characterized as irresponsible, and their sponsors summarily dismissed as dangerously uninformed by disease view proponents …

A Qualitative Research Study On Aging Latino Substance Abusers, Socorro Maria Ruvalcaba, Lupe Ayon Perez

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Intervention Strategies Which Enable Families To Be Reunified And Foster A Successful Case Closure Within The County Of San Bernardino Department Of Public Social Services, Juliana Caryl Koenig

Theses Digitization Project

Perinatal complications resulting from either alcohol or drug abuse include a high incidence of stillbirths, fetal distress, asphyxia, prematurity, low birth weight, pneumonia, congenital malformations, cerebral infarction, and an increased risk to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Stereotypical Sex-Roles: A Barrier To Success In Addiction Treatment?, Paul Walter Sharpe

Theses Digitization Project

Hypothesis on success in addiction treatment programs as measured by BEM Sex-Role Inventory.

Feminine Socialization Or Codependency, Anna Claire Trimble, Donna Marie Venardos

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Racial Differences In The Use Of Drugs And Alcohol Among Low Income Youth And Young Adults, John E. Poulin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the use of drugs and alcohol among 284 youth and young adults of a low income urban community. Racial differences in the use of drugs and alcohol are examined for four age groups between 12 and 25.

Overall, the findings show significant racial differences in the use of both drugs and alcohol. Black youth and young adults have lower drug use and alcohol use rates than their white peers. The differences hold for the four age groups examined. Implications of the findings for drug prevention programs are discussed.

Differential Perception And Adolescent Drinking In The United States: Preliminary Considerations, John B. Harms, James L. Wolk

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper addresses adolescent drinking from a perspective very similar to Sutherland's differential association theory. Drinking occurs when positive perceptions of drinking outweigh or outnumber negative ones. Our research focuses on images of drinking communicated by rationalized sources organized specifically to shape perceptions of drinking. We call these organizations "agencies" and assess their impact on perceptions of drinking. It is our contention that the political economic context of the United States in which these agencies function is such that positive images of drinking outnumber and outweigh negative ones, and that this is an important factor contributing to adolescent drinking.

Reconsidering Drug Involvement Among Youth And Young Adults: Implications For Targeted Primary Prevention, Mark W. Fraser

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this; paper is to review two dominant social perspectives on the etiology of substance abuse among youths and young adults-the stage and risk factor outlooks-and to discuss them in light of recent demographic and ecological research. The differential demography of drug abuse strongly suggests that the environmental context influences the use and abuse of substances. In an era of great public concern about substance abuse, the use of individually-focused perspectives appears to have resulted in person-centered skills training programs and "say no" media campaigns. Consideration of community-level factors in the etiology of drug abuse permits the identification …

Measuring Domestic Violence In An Alcoholic Population, Larry R. Livingston

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A survey of 107 adults receiving residential treatment for substance abuse was conducted, to determine characteristics of domestic violence in relationships. The survey incorporated instruments to measure the degree of substance abuse (the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test or MAST) as well as types and frequencies of domestic violence (the Conflict Tactics Scale or CTS-N). Findings are then compared to a national study of 2143 normals (Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980) to ascertain differences in domestic violence.

Findings indicate that 83% of alcoholic subjects behaved violently in past relationships, compared to 28% of the normal population. Fifty-five percent of the alcoholics …

The Sociology Of Alcoholism Counseling: A Social Worker's Perspective, Katherine Van Wormer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

An occupation - alcoholism counseling - strives to gain professional status. Still a field largely dominated by counselors who derive their status more from personal attributes - the fact of being recovering alcoholics - rather than from achievement of impersonally applied standards, chemical dependency counseling is in a state of flux. This sociological analysis examines recent developments in the field. Special emphasis is on roles for social workers.

Scientific Ideologies And Conceptions Of Drinking Behavior And Alcoholism, Keith M. Kilty

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Conventional explanations of drinking behavior and alcoholism suffer from serious inadequacies, due in large part to their unquestioning acceptance of certain assumptions about the effects of alcohol on human behavior that are rooted in moral prescriptions. That is, most contemporary models of drinking behavior assume that the consumption of alcohol leads to the loss of inhibitions or self-control, ultimately leading to behaviors that are not predictable by either the drinker or society. This perspective has become so deeply ingrained in the social scientific literature that it is no longer even perceived as hypothetical; instead, it has taken on the character …

A Contest Of Values: A Cultural History Of Approaches Toward Alcohol, John E. Tropman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This is a smaller version of a manuscript prepared for the special seminar on Alcohol and Social Policy, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Winter 1978. The assistance of Kim Hoa Granville and Craig King is gratefully acknowledged. The support and encouragement of Dr. Edith Gomberg also needs to be recognized; without it, this paper never would have materialized.

The Portland, Oregon Asap: An Evaluation Of Treatment Effectiveness, Joan M. Wildebush Berry

Dissertations and Theses

The Alcohol Safety Action Program (ASAP), in accordance with its goals and directives, determined, in 1980, the need for an evaluation of its services. In response to that need, the present study was conducted between April and October, 1980.

The initial step in this evaluation is a review of the relevant literature. The review includes literature in the areas of: treatment evaluation methodology, follow-up studies of alcohol treatment, and management of drunken drivers. In addition, the history and current organization of the Portland ASAP are discussed.

The study employs a one group pretest-posttest design and utilizes the Oregon Quality of …

The Transition To Medicalized Views: Alcoholism And Social Workers, H. Paul Chalfant, Dorinda N. Noble

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

More deviant behaviors in our society are coming to be defined as medical rather than criminal, so that more control of such behavior is coming under medical and helping professions. Some conditions, e.g., alcoholism, seem to be caught "in between," with serious consequences. This paper looks at social worker perception of the alcoholic as "sick," in terms of a sociological conception of sickness as a social role. A bi-mdal distribution is found for acceptance and nonacceptance. Also, a significant number are ambivalent. The implications of this lack of consensus are discussed.

Heroin--Myths And Knowledge: Impact On Public Policy, Robert Salmon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Public Policy in the United States towards the heroin user and addict has been punitive as well as unsuccessful in deterring drug use or in treatment of the addict. Bias, myths, and prejudices have influenced our policy stance and have made heroin addiction a more serious problem than it otherwise would have been. This is explicated in the article, and contrasted with the British system which in attitude and practice tends to view the addict as ill rather than evil.

Lifespring's Basic Seminar: An Evaluation Study, Patricia A. Percival

Dissertations and Theses

This was a three part study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Basic Seminar, a five-day personal growth training designed and presented by Lifespring, Inc. The instrument used in this study was the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) published in 1963 by Everett L. Shostrom and copyrighted by Edits Publishing Co., San Diego, CA. This inventory consists of 150 two-choice comparative value and behavior judgments. Two basic scales measure personal orientation, inner directed support and time competence. Ten subscales measure different conceptually important elements of self-actualizing. The items are scored twice, once for the two basic scales and second for …

Client Costs And Early Discontinuance From A Community-Based Treatment Program, Ronald A. Feldman, Mortimer Goodman, John S. Wodarski, Wallace J. Gingerich

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In social work circles client withdrawal from a treatment program commonly has been labeled as "discontinuance". Discontinuance rates have been inordinately high for both casework and group work endeavors, ranging in some instances to 59Z of all clients following the first interview (Aronson and Overall, 1966; Empey and Erickson, 1972; Goldstein, Heller, and Sechrest, 1966; Levinger, 1960; Overall and Aronson, 1963). Discontinuance represents an obvious and essential concern for social work for one overarching reason, to wit, treatment interventions cannot be implemented should the client(s) withdraw from the therapeutic relationship. Additionally, as some investigators have shown, discontinuance represents a focal …

The Application And Evaluation Of Goal Attainment Scaling To The Janis Drug Treatment Program, Steven W. Kilber, Carol E. Swanson

Dissertations and Theses

Janis is a residential drug treatment program for drug abusers between the ages of twelve and eighteen deigned to rehabilitate the participants. Five homes, each staffed by two trained residential coordinators and one student accommodate a total of thirty patients at a time. The treatment program consists of daily house meetings led by the residential coordinators, one group therapy session per week led by a psychiatric social worker, and individual therapy sessions with a psychiatrist as needed, as well as regular consultation with a psychologist and psychiatrist. The adolescents enrolled in the program are referred from a variety of agencies, …

A Study Of The Amphetamine Abuser: Personality Characteristics And “Meaning To Life”, Terrence L. Esch

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper will review the literature on amphetamine abuse after which I will discuss some implications for treatment. I will propose an empirical study that should help clarify a major assumption that is apparent in the literature. This study will then point out the possibility of a method of treatment that can be effective in helping amphetamine abusers.

The papers consists of three major themes: (a) Review of the Literature, (b) Implications for treatment, and (c) a proposed empirical study questioning the difference of personality traits and “meaning to life” between amphetamine abusers and youth who are considered to be …