Family patterns of dysfunction that often reinforce maladaptive behaviors and cognitions of children growing up in an alcoholic home environment are often difficult to overcome. Adjustment issues associated with being an adult child of an alcoholic (ACOA) are presented along with factors that have been identified as being important in developing…

Uses data collected from 2,560 subjects attending the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education program from 1976 to June of 1981. Identifies a range of general life problems stemming from alcohol use and examines social, personal, and behavioral factors associated with problem drinking. Also explores the relationship between drinking and accident…

This paper discusses a treatment approach to addiction counseling which emphasizes the need for information in the areas of major life problems, problem-causing behaviors, early family experiences, and self-esteem or self-image. This treatment process is outlined. The Danic Quick Personal Inventory Scale is presented in a sample case study.…

Estimates of the prevalence of alcohol dependence among Americans approach 14% (Read, Kahler, & Stevenson, 2001). Alcohol dependence was once considered among the most recalcitrant of problem behaviors, with only 20% to 30% attaining sustained abstinence (Hunt Barnett & Branch 1971). Although current definitions of treatment success now consider…

In the treatment of addiction, the problem of motivating people into some form of treatment is sometimes the most difficult part of the process. In this paper, two forms of motivation into treatment are discussed. In the first, the person is treated like a child and someone, acting as the parent, forces the person into beginning the therapy…

Viewing alcoholism in women from a biopsychosocial perspective reveals a unique set of circumstances and challenges that women alcoholics face when compared with men. Biologically, women react differently to alcohol ingestion than do men. Women reach higher blood alcohol levels and sustain more somatic and cognitive damage than men when consuming…

This article discusses case studies of eight gifted/talented youths (one female) identified through an in-depth study of a rural alternative high school. All left or were expelled from regular schools for behavioral reasons. Many had drug/alcohol problems and/or criminal records. Postsecondary education and employment are described, as is program…

This book evolved out of a presentation on the psychosocial problems of black adolescents and youth at a colloquium jointly sponsored by the Bay Area Black United Fund and the School of Social Welfare at the University of California at Berkeley in the Spring of 1982. The problems of black inner-city males are so severe that society tends to ignore…