Substance use & misuse
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Substance use & misuse · Jan 2010
Alcohol use and physical health in adolescence: a general population survey of 8,983 young people in North-Trøndelag, Norway (the Young-HUNT study).
To investigate the relationship between adolescents' alcohol use and physical health. ⋯ There is a close association of physical health complaints and alcohol intoxication frequency in Norwegian teenagers. The study's limitations were noted.
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Substance use & misuse · Jan 2009
Interaction of counseling rapport and topics discussed in sessions with methadone treatment clients.
Therapeutic rapport between counselors and clients in drug user treatment has been shown to be an important predictor of follow-up outcomes. This naturalistic study investigated the relationship of counseling rapport to drug-related topics discussed in counseling sessions in a sample of 330 clients and nine counselors. These voluntary clients had been admitted to a private, for-profit outpatient methadone treatment in Texas between September 1995 and August 1997 and received no-fee services for a year for participation in this study. ⋯ The influences of client background, counselor differences, and during-treatment positive urines were also examined. Although counselors differed in their general manner of dealing with clients, each also showed flexibility determined in part by client behavior (such as continued cocaine use). The findings indicate that focusing on constructive solutions is the preferred counseling approach.
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Substance use & misuse · Jan 2009
Bayesian hierarchical spatial modeling of substance abuse patterns following a mass trauma: the role of time and place.
To illustrate how spatial modeling methods may provide insight about the relation between proximity to mass trauma and substance use, we examined the role of proximity to a terrorist event in determining risk of substance use related diagnoses. Previous analyses that have assessed changes in substance use following mass traumas such as terrorist attacks have produced conflicting results. ⋯ By accounting for spatial relationships that may influence the population risk of substance use health disorder, this approach helps explain some of the conflicting observations in the extant literature. These methods hold promise for the characterization of disease risk where spatial patterning of exposures and outcomes may matter.
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Substance use & misuse · Jan 2008
Comparative StudyA validation of self-reported substance use with biochemical testing among patients presenting to the emergency department seeking treatment for backache, headache, and toothache.
This study tests the validity of self-reported illicit substance use against biochemical testing among Emergency Department (ED) patients seeking treatment with narcotics for backache, headache, and toothache and to characterize patients who provide false reports. ⋯ Self-reported drug use is unreliable in this ED subpopulation. When this knowledge is critical for patient care, biochemical testing may be indicated.
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Substance use & misuse · Jan 2008
Comparative StudyPosttraumatic stress disorder, gender, and problem profiles in substance dependent patients.
Patients with a chronic and severe substance-use disorder who also have a history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are thought to have a unique set of problems. The present study assessed psychiatric disorders, psychosocial problems, and traumatic events with structured interviews in 747 men and 693 women enrolling in urban opioid substitution treatment programs from 1995 to 2001. Participants with versus without a history of PTSD were more likely to have a history of many other psychiatric disorders and demonstrated more current and historical medical, employment, family/social, and psychiatric problems. ⋯ In contrast, witnessing or hearing about the death or injury of others was more likely to precipitate PTSD in women than men. Female gender, exposure to combat, sexual assault, or physical assault, and a history of major mood or anxiety disorder were the best predictors of PTSD in this group. Study limitations are noted.