In this study, college students (N=178) either played Downward Spiral, a board game that illustrates the dangers of continued substance abuse, or watched educational videos on substance abuse. Results show that students who played Downward Spiral had somewhat higher levels of consumer satisfaction. However, results also show that both videos and…

Identifies typology of substance users from a sample of 1,580 St. Louis arrestees surveyed through the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program. Analyses illustrated that drug-using classifications differ between criminal and non-criminal populations, but that arrestee populations vary interjurisdictionally. Assesses implications for local and…

The ability of individuals with psychoactive substance use disorders to dissimulate successfully on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) was evaluated with 236 adults from treatment, nonclinical, control, and forensically referred groups. Findings indicate that the PAI scales measuring drug and alcohol problems are susceptible to…

Examined characteristics of 12 substance abuse prevention programs serving African American youth. Findings indicated that African American youth exhibited lower use rates than most other ethnic groups, but by age 16-18 years, use was prevalent. Africentric principles and themes integrated into the prevention programs contributed to higher rates…

Thirty-five substance abusing adolescents completed a cigarette-focused intervention and were followed-up on at three months post-treatment. Six were abstinent from smoking at follow-up, while 17 had attempted cessation. Duration of smoking and intentions to quit predicted cessation attempts. Smoking cessation had no negative effect on substance…

Studied whether substance use, transgressive behavior, and delinquency were related to the quality of peer relations for 508 12- to 18-year-olds. Findings show that substance use and transgressive behavior are positively related to the quantity and quality of peer relations. (SLD)

This article examined the extent to which methadone maintenance (MM) is considered a treatment alternative for drug-dependent parents, as reflected in the social work and child welfare literature and in child welfare policies. Findings were derived from a review of 15 social work journals published from 1996 through 2002 and from a review of child…

Runaway youth report a broader range and higher severity of substance-related, mental health and family problems relative to non-runaway youth. Most studies to date have collected self-report data on the family and social history; virtually no research has examined treatment effectiveness with this population. This study is a treatment development…

This longitudinal study examines the relationships between Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity and psychological well-being and problem behavior in 199 Chinese adolescents with economic disadvantage. Results showed that endorsement of Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity was concurrently related to measures of adolescent psychological…

This study evaluated the factor structure of the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU) across American and Spanish smokers. Using confirmatory factor analyses, the fits of one-, two-, and four-factor models of smoking craving in American and Spanish data sets were compared. The two-factor model provided the best fit in both samples. However,…

Tobacco use is a major health problem that is estimated to cause 4 million deaths a year worldwide. Nicotine is the main addictive component of tobacco. It acts as an agonist to activate and desensitize nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). A component of nicotine's addictive power is attributable to actions on the mesolimbic dopaminergic…

According to an ecological perspective in psychology and in line with social cognitive theory, smoking behaviour is determined by different social contexts (for example, peers, family and school) providing adolescents with important role models. This paper investigates the effects of personal characteristics as well as family, peer and school…

Project CREATE was an initiative to strengthen undergraduate medical education in addictions. As part of a needs assessment, forty-six medical students at Ontario's five medical schools completed a bi-weekly, interactive web-based survey about addiction-related learning events. In all, 704 unique events were recorded, for an average of 16.7…

The use of psychotropic interventions to manage the inappropriate behaviors displayed by students who are emotionally disturbed (ED) has continued to increase over the past several decades. To date, few studies have investigated the use of psychotropic medications among students with ED placed in the most restrictive educational settings (i.e.,…

Street children in Makutano, northwest Kenya, form strong, stable social groups. Group activity functions through a well-defined structure involving leadership and close personal and economic relationships. This article shows how group solidarity is maintained through the sharing of a common subculture of spatial understandings, games, activities,…