Review of Alcohol and Other Drugs: Perspectives on Use, Abuse, Treatment and Prevention.

Reviews the book, Alcohol and Other Drugs: Perspectives on Use, Abuse, Treatment and Prevention by Whitehead, Grindstaff and Boydell (Eds.) (1973). According to the editors, the purpose of this collection of twenty three articles is "to provide readers with a somewhat advanced view of some of the major findings and issues in the use of alcohol and other drugs". Eleven of the articles (approximately one third of the book) are directed to alcohol topics and the remainder to other drugs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of New Space for Women.

Reviews the book, New Space for Women edited by Gerada R. Wekerle, Rebecca Peterson, and David Morley (1981). New Space for Women is the author's depiction of the need to formally establish a multidisciplinary field of women and the environment. The book is a collection of 17 original review articles selected from diverse areas, including urban design and planning, social services and academic research, organized under this common theme. The papers are grouped into four general themes: the domestic workplace, effects of urban design on women, women as environmental decision makers, and women as environmental activitist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Understanding America's drinking problem: How to combat the hazards of alcohol.

Reviews the book, Understanding America's drinking problem: How to combat the hazards of alcohol by Don Cahalan (see record 1987-98459-000). This book is a systems level analysis of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems, with much of the focus on governmental and private efforts to control alcohol and those of the alcohol beverage industry to increase consumption and avoid regulation. A major theme of the book is that this industry, through lobbying, campaign contributions, and other tactics, has thwarted attempts to impose regulations on the marketing, advertising, and use of alcohol. The book provides an overview of important issues and some thought-provoking suggestions. It is, however, the person who has not been exposed to systems analysis, primary prevention, public policy development, and the role of political factors in the fight against alcohol-related problems who might gain the most from the book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Women changing therapy: New assessments, values and strategies in feminist therapy.

Reviews the book, Women changing therapy: New assessments, values and strategies in feminist therapy edited by Joan Hamerman Robbins and Rachel Josefowitz Siegel (1985). The assertion has been made that women in general, and feminist therapists in particular, have impacted on the theory, research, and practice of psychotherapy. Women Changing Therapy is a compilation of articles designed to provide evidence for this assertion. The book grew out of the participation of a number of female therapists in the Women's Institutes of the American Orthopsychiatric Association and its breadth of topic areas addresses a wide range of issues in psychotherapy. The twenty articles are loosely arranged in three thematical areas: Women's Issues: New Assessments, Valuing Our Selves, and New Strategies in Feminist Therapy. This volume is a patchwork of sorts which attempts to detail the effect women have had on the psychotherapeutic process. While it is uneven in places, its blending and contrasting sets it up as a good reference piece and/or volume for the uninitiated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Family Therapy: An Introduction to Theory and Technique (2nd ed).

Reviews the book, Family Therapy: An Introduction to Theory and Technique (2nd ed.) edited by Gerald D. Erickson and Terrence P. Hogan ( 1981). The second edition of Family Therapy is a significant and worthwhile improvement on the 1972 edition and it adequately reflects the rate of growth in the field of family therapy over the past decade. Erickson and Hogan have included articles which are classics in the field as well as papers critical to an appreciation of the rapid growth of techniques and research in family therapy. Almost 75% of the articles are new to this 1981 edition of Family Therapy. While almost all of the book is comprised of well selected articles which have previously been published, many are recent publications which retain their timeliness, and one is an original paper by Diane Pancoast on therapeutic interventions with community helping networks. The stated goal of the book is the selection of those major papers which represent several broad areas in family therapy. The book is successful in that regard. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Treatment and prevention of alcohol problems: A resource manual.

Reviews the book, Treatment and prevention of alcohol problems: A resource manual edited by W. Miles Cox (see record 1987-97300-000). A resource manual on alcohol problems that captures the state of the art in therapeutic and preventive techniques and in their underlying theoretical bases and empirical foundations is an extremely ambitious but much needed effort. This is precisely what Miles Cox has set out to do in the present volume. The volume consists of four sections: initiating treatment with chapters on beginning treatment, assessment, and medical aspects; specific treatment techniques, with chapters on behavioral treatment, building self-control, imagery and logotherapy, self-help groups, and craving for alcohol; associated problems and special populations with chapters on marital and family therapy, sexual problems, and culture-specific treatment; and early intervention and prevention including chapters on cognitive approaches to secondary prevention and prevention of alcohol problems. On the whole, the book lives up to its intentions. Although there are some gaps which prevent this book from being truly comprehensive, this volume will serve as a useful text in graduate courses for social workers, counselors, and psychologists. What is commendable about this book is that Cox has made a largely successful attempt, by pulling together many diverse literatures, to bridge the gulf that exists between service providers and research communities on the proper ways of helping people who are troubled by, or threaten to be troubled by, alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping mediates the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol use in homeless, ethnically diverse women: A preliminary study.

Homeless women are at increased risk for problematic alcohol use and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While coping motives have been shown to mediate the relationship between PTSD symptoms and alcohol problems in victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, it is unknown whether this relationship is evident in other trauma-exposed populations. The focus of this study was to examine whether drinking to cope mediated the relationship between PTSD symptoms and current alcohol use in a group of homeless, ethnically diverse women. Twenty-three women were recruited from local shelters in a southwestern community and asked to complete measures assessing their current alcohol use, drinking motives, and PTSD symptoms. Results revealed that drinking to cope mediated the relationship between PTSD symptoms and current alcohol use. This finding supports the theory that homeless women may benefit from treatment interventions that address both their substance use and trauma issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Take control of your drinking? and you may not need to quit.

Reviews the book, Take control of your drinking? and you may not need to quit by Michael S. Levy (see record 2007-12140-000). This book is a self-help book explicitly designed for drinkers in the general population. It is written in a conversational, second-person style, and throughout the conversation, Levy encourages readers to be honest with themselves about how alcohol fits into their lives. In return, he adopts a nonjudgmental mentoring role throughout the text. As suggested by the title, Levy's approach includes options for reducing alcohol consumption (moderation) or quitting alcohol use altogether. Although allowing that moderation is a legitimate goal for treatment and/or self-help is still quite controversial in some quarters, the effectiveness of adopting this option for some drinkers is supported by research, some of which is cited in the notes that accompany each chapter. I suspect that the even-handed way that moderation or abstinence goals are treated in the book, along with its plain-spoken writing style and awareness that alcohol problems often exist in a context of other mental health issues, will appeal to any drinker who is curious about their own alcohol use and whether to reduce or quit drinking. Those who choose to engage with the material in the book will be using techniques that are, in general, well-supported by intervention research with problem drinkers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section: research on the nature and treatment of alcoholism--does one inform the other?

Although the 2 topics of the nature and treatment of alcoholism have both been investigated for years, they are just recently beginning to interface with and complement one another. This special section addresses the interface from both perspectives and covers content areas that touch on current issues, research and treatment trends, and controversies in the alcohol field. The first 2 articles focus on the nature of alcoholism with commentary on implications for treatment, and the second 4 articles shift to examine research on treatment of alcohol problems, with implications for understanding the nature of alcoholism. This introductory article describes the special section, summarizes the articles in the section and integrates the information to discuss areas of increasing interface between research on the nature and treatment of heterogeneous substance abuse problems.     

Review of Language, the sexes and society.

Reviews the book, Language, the sexes and society by Philip M. Smith (1985). The book under review is topical, as it deals with gender issues and language approached from a social psychological perspective, two areas that have seen a flurry of activity in recent years. The reader is taken to the forefront of research in these areas and encounters a substantial amount of information. The book contains an extensive critical review, as well as a report of Philip Smith's own studies dealing with the recognition of masculinity-femininity of speakers by listeners. In the review section, speech forms associated with speaker sex, as studied by anthropological linguists, sociolinguists, and social psychologists are reviewed. We learn further about how women and men are represented in language (e.g., in the media, in advertisement, reference material). I would use this book as suggested reading to advanced undergraduates and graduate students. But the primary market for the book is among scholars and researchers engaged in the study of language and gender issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A history of alcoholism.

Reviews the book, A history of alcoholism by Jean-Charles Sournia (1990). This book was first published in French in 1986, and this English translation was published in 1990. The book consists of 12 chapters divided into 3 parts. The first 3 chapters cover a period of 19 centuries, ending at approximately 1850. Included in these 3 chapters are materials pertaining to alcohol use and drunkenness in antiquity and drinking throughout Europe and in the United States during the 1700s and into the mid-1800s. The second part of the book, composed of 5 chapters, covers the following 100 years. It includes chapters on the Swedish physician Magnus Huss, the evolution of drinking patterns in several European countries (with a particular focus on France), alcohol and medicine, and the development and activities of temperance societies. The third and final part includes 4 chapters and covers the years since 1950, a period that has witnessed many advances in research on alcohol effects, risk markers, treatment, and prevention. The strongest section of the book is the first part, which provides an overview on the history of alcoholism. This section also provides a variety of interesting notions about alcohol use from the Ancient Greek world, in which wine played an important role. The book starts out strong and provides an interesting and readable perspective on the history of drunkenness and alcoholism. The last third of the book loses steam, direction, and focus, though. However, for the reader interested in a historical overview, the first two thirds of this volume are enjoyable and recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychological and social impact of physical disability (2nd ed.).

Reviews the book, The psychological and social impact of physical disability (2nd ed.) by Robert P. Marinelli and Arthur E. Dell Orto (1984). This book of readings is a substantial revision of the volume by the same title published in 1977. The editors, who are professors of rehabilitation counseling at West Virginia University and Boston University, respectively, have selected 18 new articles for inclusion in the second edition. Their criteria for selecting the new articles, as well as for retaining 11 articles from the first edition, were "practicality and utility for service providers." The topics addressed in the selected readings include legal rights, independent living, adolescence, family dynamics, psychological adjustment, attitude modification, sexual adjustment, self-help groups, women, and various helping strategies. Most of the new articles were originally published between 1979 and 1982, and only three of the retained articles were published before 1972; hence, the volume primarily represents recent writings about psychosocial aspects of disablement. All but five of the selections are reprinted from major rehabilitation journals. Because it does assemble many important articles in one place, this book is a useful reference source for courses on psychological aspects of disability. It cannot serve as the primary textbook, however, because it does not provide anything approaching an integrated, comprehensive treatment of the subject. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

College drinking behaviors: Mediational links between parenting styles, parental bonds, depression, and alcohol problems.

Mediational links between parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive), parental bond (positive, negative), depression, alcohol use and abuse were tested. A 2-group, multiple-indicator, multiple-cause structural equation model with 441 (216 female, 225 male) college students was examined. In general, a poor parental bond with one's father was highly predictive of depression, a well-known predictor of alcohol abuse and related problems for both genders. In contrast, a positive parental bond with one's father significantly mediated the positive effects of authoritative fathering on depression, which then decreased alcohol use problems for both genders. For women, a negative parental bond with one's father significantly mediated the effect of having an authoritarian father on depression, which increased alcohol use problems. These findings suggest that parental influences on pathways to alcohol abuse through depression (primarily through fathers for both genders) are distinct from pathways stemming from poor impulse control (with influences primarily from the same-sex parents for both genders). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Stagner.

This is written in response to Ross Stagner's comments (see record 2005-11890-003) concerning the publication of books of readings. First, it is my experience that it is far easier to author a book than edit readings. I don't assume that people who write the original articles that finally find themselves in a book of readings are any more creative than the editors. I don't know how much of a reputation any one gets from authorship or editing a readings book. As for "good solid cash" (to use Stagner's words) I have yet to see some and my experience is not unique. I have paid out a considerable amount of money in secretarial fees alone. If I recoup the money I have expended I will be fortunate. As for so-called profits, if I send one copy of the book to each author and his co-author(s) who contributed an article for a book of readings--well, there goes the "good solid cash." Second, there are many articles that are rescued from the scrap pile by a book of readings. My suggestion is that after the editor of a readings book recoups his expenses in preparing the book, copies of the book be sent to clinics or libraries which are on a limited budget. Copies may even be sent to some of the "underprivileged nations." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The New Partnership: Women and Men in Organization.

Reviews the book, The New Partnership: Women and Men in Organizations by Nina L. Colwill (1982). The stated goals of her book are "to increase awareness" of a) sex-role problems in organizations, b) some potential solutions, and c) relevant research evidence. An unstated but evident goal is to persuade the reader that women, men, and organizations will all benefit from the maximal development of both sexes' potential. The book contains nine chapters, four of which are co-authored with others expert on the chapter topic. The broad range theory and research presented deals with attitudes, roles, traits and abilities, achievement and related attributions, power, communication, and groups and leadership. Each subject area is initially viewed broadly with a subsequent focus on special issues and research results relevant to sex discrimination in organizations. At the end of each chapter is a section dealing with "alternatives for change" and a set of exercises for use in groups, individually, in interviews, and in designing a study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic and social motives and drinking behavior.

This longitudinal study of 1,447 first-time college students tested separate time-varying covariate models of the relations between academic and social motives/behaviors and alcohol use and related problems from senior year of high school through the end of the second year in college. Structural equation models identified small but significant inverse relations between academic motives/behaviors and alcohol use across all time points, with relations of somewhat larger magnitude between academic motives/behaviors and alcohol-related problems across all semesters other than senior year in high school. At all time points, there were much larger positive relations between social motives/behaviors and alcohol use across all semesters, with smaller but significant relations between social motives/behaviors and alcohol-related problems. Multi-group models found considerable consistency in the relations between motives/behaviors and alcohol-related outcomes across gender, race/ethnicity, and family history of alcohol problems, although academic motives/behaviors played a stronger protective role for women, and social motives were a more robust risk factor for Caucasian and Latino students and individuals with a positive family history of alcohol problems. Implications for alcohol prevention efforts among college students are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estimates of alcohol use and clinical treatment needs among homosexually active men and women in the U.S. population.

Concerns about dysfunctional alcohol use among lesbians and gay men are longstanding. The authors examined alcohol use patterns and treatment utilization among adults interviewed in the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Sexually active respondents were classified into 2 groups: those with at least 1 same-gender sexual partner (n?=?194) in the year prior to interview and those with only opposite-gender sexual partners (n?=?9,714). The authors compared these 2 groups separately by gender. For men, normative alcohol use patterns or morbidity did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. However, homosexually active women reported using alcohol more frequently and in greater amounts and experienced greater alcohol-related morbidity than exclusively heterosexually active women. Findings suggest higher risk for alcohol-related problems among lesbians as compared with other women, perhaps because of a more common pattern of moderate alcohol consumption. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Improving productivity through performance appraisal.

Reviews the book, The New Partnership: Women and Men in Organizations by Nina L. Colwill (1982). The stated goals of this book are "to increase awareness" of: a) sex-role problems in organizations, b) some potential solutions, and c) relevant research evidence. An unstated but evident goal is to persuade the reader that women, men, and organizations will all benefit from the maximal development of both sexes' potential. The book contains nine chapters, four of which are co-authored with others expert on the chapter topic. The broad range theory and research presented deals with attitudes, roles, traits and abilities, achievement and related attributions, power, communication, and groups and leadership. Each subject area is initially viewed broadly with a subsequent focus on special issues and research results relevant to sex discrimination in organizations. At the end of each chapter is a section dealing with "alternatives for change" and a set of exercises for use in groups, individually, in interviews, and in designing a study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)