Southeast > News > Prevention News > Oct 06 News this Month

New this Month - October 2006

Bourdeau, B. (2006). Short-term object relations couples therapy: The Five Step Model. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 5(2), 79-80.

The article reviews the book "Short-term Object Relations Couples Therapy: The Five Step Model," by James M. Donovan.

Holder, H. D. (2006). Sickness absence as an alcohol-related problem. Addiction, 101(10), 1378-1379.
The author reflects on the effects of alcohol abuse. It was hypothesized that chronic heavy drinkers are prone to having somatic disorders and psychiatric problems while episodic heavy drinkers will likely cause sickness absence. Alcoholic beverage drinkers' absence is maybe secondary to sickness brought by hangover, mental problems for prolonged abusers and even vehicular accidents.

Holder, H. D. (2006). Are books a thing of the past for the development of addiction science? Addiction, 101(10), 1381-1383.
The author reflects on the effects of the development of electronic communications to the printed journals. The situation has been a main concern among printing and books business especially on publishing the developments in addiction science. In addition, books and printed science researches may become obsolete in the future due to the speedy exchange of information in the Internet.

Stranges, S., Notaro, J., Freudenheim, J. L., Calogero, R. M., Muti, P., Farinaro, E., Russell, M., Nochajski, T. H., & Trevisan, M. (2006). Alcohol drinking pattern and subjective health in a population-based study. Addiction, 101(9), 1265-1276.
Aims: Some patterns of alcohol consumption (e.g. binge drinking, drinking outside of meals) have been associated with detrimental effects on health outcomes. Subjective health provides a global assessment of health status and is a strong predictor of total mortality; however, little is known about its relationship with alcohol drinking pattern. The association between several drinking patterns (i.e. drinking intensity and frequency, frequency of intoxication, drinking outside of meals, and beverage type) and subjective health was examined in a random sample of 3586 women and men. Design: A population-based cross-sectional study. Methods: Subjective health was assessed using the physical and mental health component summaries of the Short Form-36 health survey questionnaire. Alcohol consumption refers to the 30 days before the interview. Analysis of covariance compared gender-specific mean scores across alcohol drinking patterns. Findings: Overall, non-current drinkers reported poorer physical and mental health than life-time abstainers and current drinkers, while no consistent differences were found between life-time abstainers and current drinkers. In female current drinkers, daily drinking, beer and mixed beverage consumption were associated with better mental health. In male current drinkers, moderate alcohol consumption (2-2.9 drinks per day), wine and mixed beverage consumption were associated with better physical health. Intoxication and liquor consumption were associated with poorer mental health in women and poorer physical health in men. No consistent associations were found for drinking outside meals. Conclusions: Aspects of drinking pattern may affect subjective health differentially in women and men. Overall, intoxication and liquor drinking are associated with poorer self-perceived health status than regular, moderate consumption of other alcoholic beverages.

Treno, A. J., Gruenewald, P. J., Wood, D. S., & Ponicki, W. R. (2006). The price of alcohol: A consideration of contextual factors. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 30(10), 1734-1742.
Background: The current study considers the determinants of prices charged for alcoholic beverages by on-premise and off-premise outlets in Alaska. Alcohol outlet densities, a surrogate measure for local retail competition, are expected to be negatively associated with prices while costs associated with distribution are expected to be positively related to prices. Community demographic and economic characteristics may affect observed local prices via the level of demand, retail costs borne by retailers, or the quality of brands offered for sale. Methods: The core data for these analyses came from a telephone survey of Alaskan retail establishments licensed to serve alcohol. This survey utilized computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) techniques to collect alcohol-pricing information from on-premise (i.e., establishments where alcohol is consumed at the point of purchase such as bars and restaurants) and off-premise (i.e., establishments such as grocery stores and convenience markets where consumption occurs in other locations) alcohol retailers throughout the state of Alaska. Price estimates were developed for each beverage-type based on alcohol content. Separate regression analyses were used to model each of the 8 price indices (on-premise and off-premise measures for beer, spirits, wine, and the average price across beverage types). All regressions also controlled for a set of zip-code level indicators of community economic and demographic characteristics based on census data. Results: Outlet density per roadway mile was unrelated to price for both on- and off-premise establishments, either across or between beverage types. In contrast, overall distribution costs did appear to be related to alcohol price. The demographic and economic variables, as a group, were significantly related to observed prices. Conclusions: More attention needs to be directed to the manner in which sellers and buyers behave relative to alcoholic beverages. Alcohol demand remains responsive to prices; yet, consumers have considerable latitude in determining the price that they pay for alcohol.

Fell, J. C., & Voas, R. B. (2006). The effectiveness of reducing illegal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits for driving: Evidence for lowering the limit to .05 BAC. Journal of Safety Research, 37(3), 233-243.
PURPOSE: This scientific review provides a summary of the evidence regarding the benefits of reducing the illegal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for driving and providing a case for enacting a .05 BAC limit. RESULTS: Fourteen independent studies in the United States indicate that lowering the illegal BAC limit from .10 to .08 has resulted in 5-16% reductions in alcohol-related crashes, fatalities, or injuries. However, the illegal limit is .05 BAC in numerous countries around the world. Several studies indicate that lowering the illegal per se limit from .08 to .05 BAC also reduces alcohol-related fatalities. Laboratory studies indicate that impairment in critical driving functions begins at low BACs and that most subjects are significantly impaired at .05 BAC. The relative risk of being involved in a fatal crash as a driver is 4 to 10 times greater for drivers with BACs between .05 and .07 compared to drivers with .00 BACs. SUMMARY: There is strong evidence in the literature that lowering the BAC limit from .10 to .08 is effective, that lowering the BAC limit from .08 to .05 is effective, and that lowering the BAC limit for youth to .02 or lower is effective. These law changes serve as a general deterrent to drinking and driving and ultimately save lives. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This critical review supports the adoption of lower illegal BAC limits for driving.

Fell, J. C., & Voas, R. B. (2006). Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD): The first 25 years. Traffic Injury Prevention, 7(3), 195-212.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has arguably been one of the most successful public-health grassroots citizen advocacy organizations in the United States in the past century. In 2005, MADD celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding. Based on a national poll by the Gallup Organization in 2005, MADD is recognized by 94% of citizens. It is generally given credit for changing American attitudes toward drinking and driving. Since MADD's founding in 1980, alcohol-related traffic deaths in the United States have decreased from an estimated 30,000 to 16,694 in 2004, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This article examines the growth of MADD since its founding and attempts to gauge its contribution to the public's understanding of the impaired-driving problem and to the reductions in alcohol-related highway deaths and injuries that have occurred in the first 25 years of its existence.

Lacey, J. H., Ferguson, S. A., Kelley-Baker, T., & Rider, R. P. (2006). Low-manpower checkpoints: Can they provide effective DUI enforcement in small communities? Traffic Injury Prevention, 7(3), 213-218.
OBJECTIVE: Sobriety checkpoints can be effective in reducing alcohol-impaired driving. Checkpoints are underutilized, however, partially because police believe a large number of officers are required. This study evaluated the feasibility and impact of conducting small-scale checkpoints in rural communities. METHODS: Law enforcement agencies in two counties agreed to conduct weekly checkpoints for one year. Two nonadjacent counties did not undertake additional checkpoints. Evaluation included public-awareness surveys and roadside surveys (including blood alcohol concentration [BAC] measurements) of weekend nighttime drivers. RESULTS: Relative to drivers in the comparison counties, the proportion of drivers in the experimental counties with BACs >0.05% was 70% lower. Drivers surveyed at driver's license offices in the experimental counties after program implementation were more likely to report seeing or passing through a checkpoint and were more aware of publicity on driving under the influence (DUI) enforcement. CONCLUSIONS: Small rural communities can safely and effectively conduct low-staff sobriety checkpoints on a weekly basis. Such programs can be expected to result in large reductions in drivers operating at higher BACs.

Stevens, J. A., Corso, P. S., Finkelstein, E. A., & Miller, T. R. (2006). The costs of fatal and non-fatal falls among older adults. Injury Prevention, 12(5), 290-295.
Objective: To estimate the incidence and direct medical costs for fatal and non-fatal fall injuries among US adults aged [>=]65 years in 2000, for three treatment settings stratified by age, sex, body region, and type of injury. Methods: Incidence data came from the 2000 National Vital Statistics System, 2001 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program, 2000 Health Care Utilization Program National Inpatient Sample, and 1999 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Costs for fatal falls came from Incidence and economic burden of injuries in the United States; costs for non-fatal falls were based on claims from the 1998 and 1999 Medicare fee-for-service 5% Standard Analytical Files. A case crossover approach was used to compare the monthly costs before and after the fall. Results: In 2000, there were almost 10 300 fatal and 2.6 million medically treated non-fatal fall related injuries. Direct medical costs totaled $0.2 billion dollars for fatal and $19 billion dollars for non-fatal injuries. Of the non-fatal injury costs, 63% ($12 billion) were for hospitalizations, 21% ($4 billion) were for emergency department visits, and 16% ($3 billion) were for treatment in outpatient settings. Medical expenditures for women, who comprised 58% of the older adult population, were 2-3 times higher than for men for all medical treatment settings. Fractures accounted for just 35% of non-fatal injuries but 61% of costs. Conclusions: Fall related injuries among older adults, especially among older women, are associated with substantial economic costs. Implementing effective intervention strategies could appreciably decrease the incidence and healthcare costs of these injuries.

Miller, T., Snowden, C., Birckmayer, J., & Hendrie, D. (2006). Retail alcohol monopolies, underage drinking, and youth impaired driving deaths. Accident; Analysis and Prevention, 38(6), 1162-1167.
OBJECTIVE: To explore associations of state retail alcohol monopolies with underage drinking and alcohol-impaired driving deaths. DATA: Surveys on youth who drank alcohol and binge-drank recently and their beverage choices; census of motor vehicle fatalities by driver blood alcohol level. METHODS: Regressions estimated associations of monopolies with under-21 drinking, binge drinking, alcohol-impaired driving deaths, and odds a driver under 21 who died was alcohol-positive. RESULTS: About 93.8% of those ages 12-20 who consumed alcohol in the past month drank some wine or spirits. In states with a retail monopoly over spirits or wine and spirits, an average of 14.5% fewer high school students reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days and 16.7% fewer reported binge drinking in the past 30 days than high school students in non-monopoly states. Monopolies over both wine and spirits were associated with larger consumption reductions than monopolies over spirits only. Lower consumption rates in monopoly states, in turn, were associated with a 9.3% lower alcohol-impaired driving death rate under age 21 in monopoly states versus non-monopoly states. Alcohol monopolies may prevent 45 impaired driving deaths annually. CONCLUSIONS: Continuing existing retail alcohol monopolies should help control underage drinking and associated harms.

Romano, E., & Thornsbury, S. (2006). Institutional uncertainty at home and away: The case of lemons from Argentina. Choices, 21(3), 143-147.
Argentine efforts to gain access to U.S. lemon markets illustrate the complexity of invasive species risk management policies. A source of uncertainty is confidence in institutional ability of regulatory agencies, both at home and away. Linkages exist between institution building and trust, but all policymakers continue to face industry pressures.

Leigh, J. P. , Waehrer, G. W., Miller, T. R., & McCurdy, S. A. (2006). Cost differences across demographic groups and types of occupational injuries and illnesses. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 49(10), 845-853.
Little is known about cost differences for demographic groups or across occupational injuries and illnesses.In this incidence study of nationwide data for 1993, an analysis was conducted on fatal and non-fatal injury and illness data recorded in government data sets. Costs data were from workers' compensation records, estimates of lost wages, and jury awards.The youngest (age </= 17) and oldest (age >/= 65) workers had exceptionally high fatality costs. Whereas men's costs for non-fatal incidents were nearly double those for women, men's costs for fatal injuries were 10 times the costs for women. The highest ranking occupation for combined fatal and non-fatal costs - farming, forestry, and fishing - had costs-per-worker ($5,163) over 18 times the lowest ranking occupation - executives and managers ($279). The occupation of handlers, cleaners, and laborers, ranked highest for non-fatal costs. Gunshot wounds generated especially high fatal costs. Compared to whites, African-Americans had a lower percentage of costs due to carpal tunnel syndrome, circulatory, and digestive diseases.Costs comparisons can be drawn across age, race, gender, and occupational groups as well as categories of injuries and illnesses.

Peters, R., Kelder, S., Prokhorov, A., Springer, A., Yacoubian, G., Agurcia, C., & Amos, C. (2006). The relationship between perceived exposure to promotional smoking messages and smoking status among high school students. American Journal on Addictions, 15(5), 387-391.
Data on self-reported perceived exposure to pro-smoking messages were collected from 1,608 high school students surveyed through the ASPIRE (A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience) Program in Houston, Texas, in 2003. Results indicated that high school smoking quitters had approximately twice the odds of perceived exposure to pro-smoking messages as nonsmokers through billboard advertisements (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.09, 3.81), newspapers & magazines (AOR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.09, 3.56), and movies (AOR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.03, 3.65). Smoking experimenters marginally perceived more exposure to pro-smoking radio messages (AOR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.67) and billboard advertisements (AOR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.61) compared to nonsmokers. Lastly, current smokers were 1.82 times as likely to report exposure to pro-smoking poster advertisements as nonsmokers (95% CI: 1.19, 2.79, p </= .05). These findings suggest that experimenters and quitters may pay more attention to smoking advertisements than nonsmokers and current smokers.

Edwards, J. M., Iritani, B. J., & Hallfors, D. D. (2006). Prevalence and correlates of exchanging sex for drugs or money among adolescents in the United States. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 82(5), 354-358.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the prevalence and correlates of exchanging sex for drugs or money among a nationally representative sample of 13 294 adolescents in the United States. METHODS: Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, waves I and II. The lifetime prevalence of exchanging sex was estimated and a cross sectional analysis of sociodemographic and behavioural correlates was conducted. Unadjusted odds ratios were obtained. RESULTS: 3.5% of adolescents had ever exchanged sex for drugs or money. Two thirds of these youths were boys. The odds of having exchanged sex were higher for youths who had used drugs, had run away from home, were depressed, and had engaged in various sexual risk behaviours. 15% of boys and 20% of girls who had exchanged sex reported they had ever been told they have HIV or another sexually transmitted infection (STI). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with a history of exchanging sex have engaged in other high risk behaviours and may experience poor health outcomes, including depression and HIV/STIs. These findings should help inform strategies to prevent this high risk sexual behaviour and its potential consequences.

Wu, L. T., & Ringwalt, C. L. (2006). Inhalant use and disorders among adults in the United States. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 85(1), 1-11.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the patterns of adult inhalant use and correlates of inhalant use disorder. METHOD: We drew study data from the 2002 and 2003 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). We used logistic regression to identify the characteristics associated both with inhalant use and inhalant use disorder. RESULTS: One in 10 of all adults had used an inhalant at least once in their lives, and 0.5% used one in the past year. Among all past year inhalant users, 8% met the criteria for an inhalant use disorder (i.e., 6.6% for abuse and 1.1% for dependence) within that period. We found an increased prevalence of past year inhalant use among young adults aged 18-25 years, Asians, past year alcohol abusers and dependents, lifetime drug users, white women, and men reporting symptoms of serious mental illness. Inhalant-using adults who met the criteria for an inhalant use disorder were predominantly adults aged 35-49 years and were less educated, had received recent professional treatment for emotional or psychological problems, used inhalants weekly, and had a coexisting alcohol use disorder. CONCLUSION: The patterns and consequences of adult inhalant use differ from those of adolescents. Compared with adolescent inhalant users, adult users tend not to initiate inhalant use until adulthood, use inhalants less frequently, use fewer inhalants, and are less likely to engage in criminal activities.

Karnell, A. P., Cupp, P. K., Zimmerman, R. S., Feist-Price, S., & Bennie, T. (2006). Efficacy of an American alcohol and HIV prevention curriculum adapted for use in South Africa: Results of a pilot study in five township schools. AIDS Education & Prevention, 18(4), 295-310.
The article presents a study which evaluated the effectiveness of a U.S. school-based alcohol and HIV prevention program in five township schools in South Africa. The article discusses the program's participant's increased intention to use condoms, women's sexual refusal and self-efficacy, drinking behavior and sex, social norms, and health attitudes surrounding sexual behavior. The study's results indicated that behavior intervention programs developed in Western countries may be successfully adapted in other countries.

Towles-Reeves, E., Garrett, B., Burdge, M., & Burdette, P. (2006). What are the consequences? Validation of large scale alternative assessment systems and their influences on instruction. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 31(3), 45-57.
In conjunction with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA; PL 105-17), the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB; PL 107-I 10) calls for enhancements to existing assessment and accountability systems within specific timelines. The NCLB Act also stresses the importance of using reliable and valid data for decision making. This study examined the consequential validity of a large-scale alternate assessment system for students with severe cognitive disabilities in one Midwestern state. Three hundred and four teachers completed a survey designed to measure their perceptions of the alternate assessments influence on instruction and the development of individualized education programs (IEPs). Findings indicated the assessment had a strong influence on instruction and a strong, but lesser influence on the development of IEPs.

Towles-Reeves, E., Kampfer-Bohach, S., Garrett, B., Kearns, J. F., & Grisham-Brown, J. (2006). Are we leaving our children behind? Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 17(1), 40-48.
Researchers surveyed 52 deaf-blind coordinators to gain an understanding of their knowledge and involvement with their respective states' large-scale assessment systems in regard to students with deaf-blindness. Findings revealed (a) uncertainty by state deaf-blind coordinators regarding how well students with deaf-blindness fare in large-scale assessment systems and (b) that deaf-blind coordinators have had minimal opportunity to utilize their expertise in the development and implementation of state general and alternate large-scale assessments. If the NCLB Act (2002) is to achieve its policy goal of improving the academic performance of all students, greater attention must be paid to subgroups of students, such as those with deaf-blindness.

Johnson, K., Young, L., Foster, J. P., & Shamblen, S. R. (2006). Law enforcement training in Southeast Asia: A theory-driven evaluation. Police Practice and Research, 7(3), 195-213.
This evaluation assesses an international law enforcement training program designed to aid law enforcement officials in combating international crime. Analyses of data from a sample of 214 participants across four training cohorts showed that favorable reaction was adequate to very adequate, their knowledge increased significantly, commitment to knowledge use remained moderately high, and their use of the training positively influenced individual on-the-job behavior six months later. Contrary to expectations, agency-level training transfer in the form of adoption of law enforcement methods and collaboration assessed six months after the training did not increase, although inter-country collaboration in the training cohort following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the USA did increase. Also, the extent of favorable participant reactions to the training did not necessarily lead to increased learning and training transfer. Implications of the study results provide guidance to the development of law enforcement training curricula and the monitoring and evaluation of training programs.

Kennedy, S. B., Harris, A. O., Oudemans, E., Young, L., Kollie, J., Nelson, E. S., Nisbett, R. A., Morris, C., Bartee, N., George-Williams, E., & Jones, J. (2006). Developing capacity to protect human research subjects in a post-conflict, resource-constrained setting: Procedures and prospects. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32(10), 592-595.
The capacity-building strategy used by a US-based research organisation, the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), to strengthen the system for the protection of human research subjects and the infrastructure of its international collaborating partner, the University of Liberia, are discussed. To conduct the much-needed biomedical and social science-based research-related activities in the future, this partnership is expected by PIRE to gradually evolve over time to strengthen the capacity of the local investigators and administrators of the University of Liberia. Accordingly, a unique opportunity to share technology and resources with a post-conflict, resource-constrained country is created by this partnership. This capacity-building model to strengthen the protection of human subjects in research can also be replicated in similar resource-constrained international settings and, accordingly, our experiences and limitations are shared in this paper.

Padget, A., Bell, M. L., Shamblen, S. R., & Ringwalt, C. L. (2006). Does learning about the effects of alcohol on the developing brain affect children's alcohol use? Prevention Science, 7(3), 293-302.
Protecting You/Protecting Me (PY/PM) is a classroom-based, alcohol-use prevention and vehicle safety program for students in grades 1-5 developed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). PY/PM is one of the first alcohol prevention programs targeting children that incorporates emerging research on the adverse effects of alcohol on the developing brain. In this study, we surveyed fifth grade students, some of whom were exposed to their fifth consecutive year of PY/PM implementation. Results indicate that, relative to comparison students from matched schools, PY/PM students increased their knowledge of the effects of alcohol on the developing brain, their perception of the potential harm of alcohol use, and their vehicle safety skills. PY/PM students also exhibited increased negative attitudes toward underage drinking, increased their intentions not to use alcohol, and reported decreased riding with an impaired driver. PY/PM did not have an effect on alcohol use per se of these fifth graders. Path modeling revealed that knowledge of the effects of alcohol on the developing brain had both a direct and an indirect effect on alcohol use, the latter by increasing perceptions of the harm of underage alcohol use which, in turn affected intentions to use and use itself. Teaching children about the effects of alcohol on the developing brain appears to be a promising strategy for underage alcohol use prevention.