Reviews the acute effects of alcohol on aggressive responding. From experimental studies that use human subjects, it is concluded that a moderate dose of alcohol does not increase aggression if subjects are unprovoked. Under provocative situations, aggression is increased as a function of alcohol intoxication, provided that subjects are restricted…

Drinking patterns, alcohol expectancies, and coping strategies were assessed for 121 persons with recent spinal cord injuries during hospitalization, 3 months after surgery, and 12 months after surgery. Although the rate of heavy drinking decreased, preinjury problem drinkers still had the lowest rate of positive reappraisal, problem solving, and…

This study compared the neurological state and results of treatment for patients with traumatic spinal cord injury who were intoxicated (n=424) or sober (n=769) on admission to a Warsaw (Poland) hospital. In the intoxicated group, the number of patients with symptoms of complete spinal cord injury was much greater than that of the sober group. (DB)

Tested three forms of alcohol risk reduction programing for young adults (n=132): six-week class and discussion group, six-unit self-help manual, and one-hour feedback and advice session with professional staff. Found significant reductions in self-reported drinking at end of intervention and maintenance of drinking changes throughout two-year…

Alcoholic men (n=45) admitted for detoxification to treatment program underwent cue reactivity assessment protocol, and 91% received three-month follow-up interviews. Greater salivary reactivity predicted greater frequency of drinking during follow-up. Greater attention to stimulus or to response predicting less drinking. Cue reactivity did not…

Examined African-American adolescents' use of alcohol and their perceptions of their family environments. Alcohol-using adolescents (n=71) completed Family Environment Scale (FES). Analyses of data revealed that females differed significantly from males on 4 of 10 FES subscales. Findings support view that alcohol affects perception of family…

Compared 1987 driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) arrest records for American Indians to those of general population in Washington. Found that American Indians were most overrepresented population as they were 2.5 times as likely to be arrested for DWI, compared to overall DWI arrest population. (Author/NB)

Describes IMPACT (Insight, Motivation, Progress, Assessment, Counseling, Treatment), successful intervention approach for repeat impaired driving offenders. Explains intensive, residential, weekend experience in which program participants examine their alcohol- and drug-related behaviors. Notes that, through interaction with peers, participants…

A review of research on the correlation between the intake of alcohol and creativity hypothesizes that modest alcohol consumption inhibits aspects of creativity based mainly on the secondary process (preparation, certain parts of illumination, and verification), and disinhibits those based mainly on the primary process (incubation, certain parts…

Investigates the attitudes of volunteer counselors toward clients with alcohol problems and the counselors' commitment to their agencies. Results indicate the importance of role recognition by agencies in enhancing counselor attitudes toward their work; levels of experience also appears to be significant. (Author/MKA)

Used data from the 1993 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study to describe students' weekly alcohol consumption and associated problems. Behavioral norms for alcohol consumption differed widely among students and across colleges. Nationally, one in five college students was a frequent binge drinker. Binge drinkers accounted for most…

Summarizes presentations at a symposium (Denver, CO, June 5, 1998) on college drinking which examined: the impact of developmental issues of late adolescence; influence of college drinking on human biology and on substance abuse in later life; student drinking during the academic year; and campus program evaluation. Concluded there was a need for…

Investigated whether blacks who did not drink alcohol were more culturally traditional than those who did drink. Surveys of 520 black adults from varying socioeconomic and education levels indicated that black abstainers were more immersed in black culture, more religious, and had stronger traditional family values. Black drinkers were more…

Identifies tools that have demonstrated value in detecting and assessing alcohol problems and summarizes counseling approaches that have been found to be successful and unsuccessful in reducing alcohol consumption. Identifies five steps for improving the level of programming within college counseling programs for at-risk college and university…

Surveyed alcoholism counselors (N=284) to determine whether the disease concept of alcoholism precludes acceptance and use of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) in alcoholism treatment. Results suggest that SFBT may be feasible for alcoholism treatment and that endorsement of the disease concept is compatible with the principles of SFBT. (EMK)