Addictive behaviors
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Addictive behaviors · Jan 1992
Relationship of diagnostic, demographic, and personality variables to self-reported stimuli for chemical use.
While extensive research has been conducted to determine internal and external stimuli for drinking by alcoholics, the topic of how demographic, diagnostic, and personality variables may relate to these precipitants is largely unexplored. This study suggests that stimuli to use alcohol or drugs differ partly as a function of diagnosis (alcohol dependence vs. concurrent alcohol and drug dependence). Age, education, and gender do not appear related to the stimuli in either diagnostic group. Personality characteristics of cognitive reflectiveness, impulse control, sociability, and intrapunitiveness, however, seem to be associated with certain classes of high risk stimuli.
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The effectiveness of a smoking cessation campaign that included both printed and televised materials was evaluated in registrant and randomly acquired samples of smokers during the first month postcampaign and again at 3 months. Registrant and random samples differed on several sociodemographic variables. ⋯ Fifteen percent of registrants who had not attempted to quit at Time 1 were abstinent 3 months postcampaign. Registering to participate in print and televised cessation programs may be related to a change in smoking behavior.
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Addictive behaviors · Jan 1991
A comparison of smokeless tobacco and smoking practices of university varsity and intramural baseball players.
To examine the smokeless tobacco (ST) and smoking practices of collegiate varsity and intramural baseball players, 284 undergraduate athletes at two major Southwestern universities were surveyed using a questionnaire previously developed to measure use among this population. About one-fourth of all athletes were current ST users and 4% smokers. Over half of varsity players (53%) compared to 25.9% of intramural players used one or both forms of ST. ⋯ There was no evidence that one form of tobacco served as a gateway for the other among these young adult athletes. Over a fourth of all users started after age 17, suggesting that college is an appropriate locus for both ST prevention and cessation programming. Such programs for this population must address the unique characteristics of the social environment in collegiate baseball.
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Addictive behaviors · Jan 1990
Use of snuff, chewing tobacco, and cigarettes among adolescents in a tobacco-producing area.
This study describes the prevalence and patterns of smokeless tobacco and cigarette use among adolescents with a specific focus on those living in a high tobacco production area. The subjects were 582 male and 485 female students in grades 7 through 12, with 54% living in a rural (nonmetro) area and the remainder living in an urban (metro) area. Self-reports of tobacco usage were validated using biochemical tests. ⋯ Some other results were: (1) use of snuff was more popular than chewing tobacco, (2) the average grade for initiation to tobacco was the fourth grade for nonmetro students and the fifth grade for metro students, and (3) a large number of male smokeless users also reported cigarette use. Students from tobacco-raising households are at high risk for tobacco use. Future research should focus on effective prevention methods for high-risk students.
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In previous studies a 32-item Opiate Withdrawal Scale was found to provide a reliable and valid means of measuring the signs and symptoms of withdrawal among heroin (and other opiate) addicts. This paper describes the processes whereby a shorter 10-item version of the same scale was developed. The Short Opiate Withdrawal Scale (SOWS) is simple to understand and easy to administer, and it avoids the redundancy of items contained in the original scale. It is suggested that the SOWS provide a useful instrument which can be used both in research and clinical practice with opiate addicts.