Suchergebnisse

Denial in alcoholics is often a barrier to effective diagnosis, referral, and treatment. Successful intervention is enhanced if the caregivers have an understanding of the nature of denial and strategies for working through it. Stages of denial are described as well as common manifestations of it at each stage. Counseling techniques for addressing denial and methods for implementing these techniques are suggested.

Interest has grown in the positive youth development (PYD) approach and its application to youth in a variety of settings. When using the PYD approach, workers focus on youth assets rather than deficits, collaborate with youth in planning the youth's future, build youth competencies rather than doing tasks for the youth, adopt a holistic perspective of healthy personal growth, and engage in long-range planning rather than short-term solutions. This approach has not typically been applied to youth who demonstrate problem behavior such as substance abuse or psychiatric symptoms. Building on three theories–-strengths, coping, and stages of change–- we offer practice guidelines for applying the PYD approach to problem-oriented youth behavior, with substance abuse as an example.

The goal of this article is to heighten awareness among social workers and other human service professionals about the use of injection drugs by adolescents and young adults. Although social work and other human service providers possess increasingly greater knowledge and skills in dealing with tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among adolescents and young adults, they often have limited knowledge of injection drugs such as heroin and cocaine. This article reviews the empirical research on prevalence, hazards, and treatment options for young injection drug users and provides case studies to illustrate key points. The role of professional education is discussed as are implications for research and practice, including early intervention, involvement of family and social networks, street outreach strategies, and the need for services along a continuum of care.

The authors present a conceptual framework for cross-cultural investigation of alcohol and other drug (AOD) issues, including attitudes, values, and behaviors. Elements include cultural views of using alcohol and other drugs, life problems, seeking help, relapse, and recovery. Acculturation, subgroup identity, and migration are critically important variables in the framework. The framework can be used to view a single culture or to compare several and can help clinicians explore clients' earliest exposure to alcohol and other drugs, family and community messages regarding AOD use, and stigma and shame. It can stimulate clinicians' thinking about culturally specific intervention methods and family and community supports for recovery.

Parental alcoholism does not necessarily result in negative outcomes for the offspring; we examined whether it would result in negative perceptions of the experience. Black women and White women with alcoholic parents ( N = 126) rated and described the effect of parental alcoholism on them: 65% reported a negative effect, 26% reported a positive effect, and 7% reported a neutral effect. We examined these ratings in relation to the women's overall adult adjustment. More positive ratings were associated with being Black and with variables such as social support, experiencing lower family conflict, and having no alcohol problem oneself. Human service providers need greater access to research findings to see that children from these families will be diverse in their psychological and social functioning.