Substance use and abuse

Premorbid and current neuropsychological function in opiate abusers receiving treatment

by Graham Pluck

From collective drug treatment to individual responsibility: understanding the uncomfortable relationship between neo liberal social policy and the contemporary U.K drug strategy.

by Darren Hill

Gavin, A., Molcho, M., Kelly, C. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2008). Family, peer and school relationships as predictors of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use in Irish adolescents: differences between sustained and experimental substance use behaviour. National Institute of Health Sciences Research Bulletin, 4(4), s50-s51.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Explaining Cross-National Youth Substance Use Through Modernization Approach: A Study of Students in Eight Post-Yugoslac Societies

by Andrej Kirbis

Co-authored with Sergej Flere, Marina Tavcar Krajnc, Published in Policing in Central and Eastern Europe – Social Control of Unconventional Deviance: Conference proceedings. University of Maribor, Faculty of criminal justice and security. Editors: Gorazd Meško, Andrej Sotlar and John Winterdyk, p. 87-106.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to compare mean levels of self-reported youth substance use measures in... more Purpose: The purpose of this research was to compare mean levels of self-reported youth substance use measures in eight post-Yugoslav entities in an effort to test the applicability of modernization approach in predicting substance use levels at the cross-national level. Design/methodology/approach:
2,178 first- and second-year social science students in ex-Yugoslav entities were surveyed with the aim of identifying similarities and differences in mean levels of tobacco, alcohol, and marihuana use. Findings: Three self-reported substance use measures showed high internal consistency and factor analysis yielded a one-dimensional structure. Cross-national comparisons showed that socioeconomically most developed entities (e.g., Slovenia and Croatia) had highest means on composite substance use measure, and Kosovo had the lowest, as expected based on the modernization approach. Research limitations/implications: The study results lend support to the modernization approach as being largely successful in explaining cross-national differences in youth substance use levels. Future studies should employ larger representative samples to allow generalisability. In addition, a larger array of deviance measures ought to be employed in the future.
Practical implications: The study has implications for both researchers and the policy makers in post-Yugoslav entities. Specifically, it shows that next to socioeconomic development, additional explanations and factors (e.g., predominant religious context, historical context) should be identified when explaining cross-national substance use differences among adolescents.
Originality/value: The study extends the understanding of cross-national substance use levels in post communist entities since quantitative data from the observed environments is largely missing and empirical studies largely exclude post-Yugoslav entities from their sampling frame.

Mulder, J., ter Bogt, T., Raaijmakers, Q., Nic Gabhainn, S., Monshouwer, K. & Vollebergh, W. (2009). The soundtrack of substance use: music preference and adolescent smoking and drinking. Substance Use and Misuse, 44, 514-531.

by Saoirse Nic Gabhainn

Better to bend than to break: Coping strategies utilized by substance-abusing homeless youth

by Gizem Erdem

Dashora, P., Erdem, G., & Slesnick, N. (2011). Better to bend than to break: Coping strategies utilized by substance abusing homeless youth. Journal of Health Psychology, 16(1), 158–168.

Substance use and child health outcomes among mothers experiencing homelessness in an Atlanta rehabilitation center

by Peiyin Hung

Abstract: Although it is well recognized that substance abuse during pregnancy is detrimental to maternal and fetal... more Abstract: Although it is well recognized that substance abuse during pregnancy is detrimental to maternal and fetal health, limited research to date has addressed the relationship between substance use and birth outcomes among women experiencing homelessness. This study investigates the association between women experiencing homelessness and a history of substance use and reported child health outcomes in one Southeastern city. 73 clients from a shelter and rehabilitation facility in Atlanta, GA, were surveyed including data for the children of 56 participants. The prevalence of multiple child health outcomes among women with and without substance use during the prenatal period were compared to national or state normative levels. Exposure to substance or tobacco use during pregnancy was significantly higher among mothers who were single, less educated, unemployed, or widowed. Children of substance-using mothers in the sample had greater than 1.5-fold increased prevalence of functional problems than children experiencing homelessness alone. Comparatively, no children of mothers without prenatal substance exposure reported physical, cognitive, development and/or speaking problems. Prenatal substance abuse compounded by other aspects of homelessness results in greater health problems for children than previously reported. An increased focus on preventing prenatal exposure among pregnant women experiencing homelessness may be warranted.

Keywords: Homeless, substance use, pregnancy, child health, public health

Substance misuse among offenders in a forensic intellectual disability service

by Verity Chester

Purpose – There have been few studies about the prevalence of substance abuse and links to offending behaviour among... more Purpose – There have been few studies about the prevalence of substance abuse and links to offending behaviour among those with intellectual disabilities. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach – This baseline audit describes: the prevalence of alcohol and substance misuse in patients within a forensic intellectual disability service; and the introduction of a Drug and Alcohol Awareness Course. In total, 74 patients were included in the audit.

Findings – Roughly half of the patients audited had co-morbid harmful use or dependence with the problem being equally prevalent in men and women. Whilst alcohol and cannabis were the commonest drugs of abuse, cocaine, stimulants and opiates were abused by a small but significant number. Of those with harmful use or dependence, 35 per cent had used the drug in the immediate lead up to their index offence. A diagnosis of personality disorder and past history of convictions for violent offences was significantly more likely to be present in the group with harmful use or dependence. There were no differences on major mental illnesses or pervasive developmental disorders.

Practical implications – The high prevalence of substance abuse makes it an important risk factor that could determine treatment outcomes. Forensic intellectual disability units need replicable substance abuse targeted treatment programmes that can be formally audited and evaluated.

Originality/value – Findings are discussed in relation to service planning and treatment outcomes from forensic intellectual disability services.

Different Forms of Bullying and Their Association to Smoking and Drinking Behavior in Italian Adolescents

by Gianluca Gini

Vietnamese Ethnicity and Adolescent Substance Abuse

by Carl L Bankston

Management of hepatitis C disease among VA patients with schizophrenia and substance use disorders

by Aaron Blackwell

Huckans, MS, Blackwell, AD, Harms, TA and Hauser, P. 2006.

OBJECTIVE: Rates of hepatitis C (HCV) infection, testing, and treatment were compared among patients with... more OBJECTIVE: Rates of hepatitis C (HCV) infection, testing, and treatment were compared among patients with schizophrenia, a substance use disorder, or co-occurring schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and a substance use disorder and a control group. METHODS: Information about 293,445 patients of the Northwest Veterans Healthcare Administration was obtained. RESULTS: The substance use disorder group constituted 13.6 percent of the sample; the schizophrenia group, 1.6 percent; and the co-occurring-disorders group, 1.4 percent. Respectively, these groups were approximately four, two, and six times as likely as the control group to receive HCV testing and about seven, two, and eight times as likely to be infected. The rate of interferon (IFN) therapy was significantly lower for the substance use group and the group with co-occurring disorders. However, the magnitude of the differences was not substantial, suggesting that these high-risk groups were not excluded from IFN therapy.

Hepatitis C testing and infection rates in bipolar patients with and without co-morbid substance use disorders

by Aaron Blackwell

Matthews, A, Huckans, MS, Blackwell, AD, and Hauser, P. 2008. Bipolar Disorders

Objectives:  To determine and compare hepatitis C (HCV) screening and testing rates among four groups: those with (i)... more Objectives:  To determine and compare hepatitis C (HCV) screening and testing rates among four groups: those with (i) bipolar disorder [BD group (history of BD but no substance use disorder)]; (ii) substance use disorders [SUD group (history of SUD but no BD)]; (iii) co-occurring disorders [DD group (history of both BD and an SUD)]; and (iv) a control group (no history of either bipolar disorder or substance use disorder). Our hypothesis was that HCV antibody testing rates and HCV prevalence would be higher in the BD, SUD, and DD groups than the control group.

Methods:  Data were retrospectively collected on 325,410 patients seen between 1998 and 2004 within facilities and clinics of the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 20 Northwest Veterans Health Care Administration from electronic medical records. HCV screening and prevalence rates were compared between the BD, SUD, DD, and control groups. Odds ratios and relative risks were determined and compared between groups.

Results:  Patients in the BD, SUD, and DD groups had been tested at a higher rate than controls and were at increased risk for HCV infection compared with controls. These high-risk groups had a 1.31-fold, 4.86-fold, and 5.46-fold increase in the relative risk of HCV infection, respectively. Overall, compared to the control group, the relative risk of a patient having HCV if he or she had BD (with or without an SUD) was 3.6.

Conclusions:  Patients with BD and comorbid SUD had an over fourfold increase in relative risk for HCV than our control group and a similar risk as patients in our SUD group. Furthermore, even if bipolar patients did not have a comorbid SUD (the BD group), their relative risk of HCV was significantly higher than that of the control group. This suggests that patients with BD, particularly those with a comorbid SUD, should be screened and tested for HCV.