A study of resiliency was conducted among 236 urban juvenile detainees. Findings reveal that resiliency processes related differently to risk and protective factors, differed among ethnic groups, and varied by age and gender among juvenile detainees. (Contains 48 references and 4 tables.) (Author)

Used an ecological framework to examine predictors of delinquent behavior among Hispanic sixth graders. Student surveys assessed proximal and distal contextual factors. Overall, proximal variables such as peer and parental attachment did not contribute significantly to four aspects of delinquent behavior. Contextual factors accounted for a…

Article presents findings of a qualitative study conducted with a group of 19 American Indian students. Participants in small gender-specific focus groups reported on strategies most commonly used to avoid offers of alcohol and other drugs. Primary strategies identified were redirecting, avoiding/leaving, and refusing. Implications for…

Recommends the inclusion of cross-cultural competencies in therapeutic recreation practice and organizations, presenting narratives from two cross-cultural interactions (one of which involved an American Indian and one of which involved an African American) that ended with premature termination of treatment for substance dependency because of lack…

This pilot study aimed to establish the psychiatric morbidity in children remanded to prison custody using an age appropriate instrument, the K-SADS. The 19 boys interviewed showed high rates of affective disorders, substance misuse and conduct disorder. Study highlights the need to develop child and adolescent mental health services for children…

Evaluated an early intervention, risk-reduction strategy in comparison with a standard intervention approach in the treatment of inner-city youth at risk of adopting a deviant life style. Regression analysis of outcome measures for 428 inner-city youth revealed significant differential results for delinquent activity, favoring the experimental…

Explores the relationship between college students' self-reports of adolescent substance use and scores on indices tapping different aspects of guilt. Results suggest that a stronger internalization of societal standards, as reflected by higher scores on Standards and Situational Guilt, may prove a useful tool in the prevention of substance use.…

Advocates the use of criminal prosecution of pregnant women who abuse illegal substances. Discusses the views that use of drugs is a form of illness and that pregnant women should be exempt from laws. Concludes that court supervision and sanctions can improve treatment. Argues that punishment and treatment need not be mutually exclusive and…

A methodology for a client-centered assessment of human services needs in a community is described. While the procedures were developed for identifying service needs for substance abusers, with some modification, they can be used in a needs assessment for any social or health problem. (TJH)

The effects of problems with alcohol and other drugs are sometimes subtle, sometimes extravagant, and always debilitating. The tendency for individuals to deny their own problems makes the need for firm and compassionate colleagues more important. Intervention is a way of bringing sympathetic help to a colleague in distress. (MLW)

The article describes an elective course, part of the required psychiatry clerkship, at Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire), which stresses development of critical thinking skills in the diagnosis and management of patients with substance abuse and related medical and psychiatric complications. (Author/DB)

Of 1,155 American Indian children with behavioral or emotional problems or with a history of abuse or neglect, 67 percent were identified in the survey as abused or neglected. Thirteen tables detail frequency of abuse and neglect by age, sex, living situation, psychiatric symptoms, drug use, school expulsion or running away, and other factors.…

Used cross-sectional probability sample of 3,132 household adults to compare lifetime diagnoses of nine major mental disorders between respondents who had been sexually assaulted and those who had not. Found sexual assault predictive of later onset of major depressive episodes, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders, but not related to later onset…

Analyzes data from 10 long-term prospective studies in relation to key issues about self-quitting smoking. Compares the success rates of self-quitters and formal treatment programs of light smokers and heavy smokers, and examines the cyclical nature of quitting. Concludes that self-quitting is a dynamic process, not a discrete event. (FMW)

Chemically dependent adolescents identified as cases of physical and/or sexual abuse (N=145) were compared with control groups of nonabused chemically dependent adolescents and nonabused, nondependent adolescents. Self-esteem was measured with the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and the chemically dependent, abused group showed significantly lower…