Youth Addiction Research Articles

Deviant subculture of student’s audience of the ural higher education institution

In the article, relevant problems of social and professional health of teachers of the Ural higher education institutions are analyzed. The author recognizes that the higher education is created as an interaction between participants of educational process, each of which at the same time acts both as the subject pursuing the valid aims, and as object of orientation for other individuals of the environment of the immediate environment. On the basis of statistical data, the author shows that in socio-economic behavior of the vast majority of students of the Ural higher education institutions are inherent as common features of deviant subculture of youth (addiction to alcohol and drugs, violence manifestations, prostitution etc.), and special, connected with educational process (admissions of occupations, use of cribs, plagiarism when performing term papers, diplomas, roughness and tactlessness in relation to teachers, etc.). According to the author, the dominating deviant feautre of modern students — insufficiently developed diligence and unavailability to overcoming difficulties. Development of professional and personal qualities and competences of the expert assumes updating of motivation of students, their active adaptation to educational process, increase of their responsibility for assimilation of the training program and the social behavior accompanying it. The author assume that developen negative social well-being of professional group of teachers of the higher school is determined by low prestige of this profession in society, sharp differentiation of compensation on regions, an ambiguity of the purposes of reforming of the higher school, complication and ambiguity of their professional roles. Conclusions and offers of the article are based on results of a number of the complex sociological researche, which have been carried out in 2010-2013 in higher education institutions and comprehensive schools of Ural under the scientific management and with direct participation of the author.

Differences in gambling problem severity and gambling and health/functioning characteristics among Asian-American and Caucasian high-school students

Studies of Asian-American adults have found high estimates of problematic gambling. However, little is known about gambling behaviors and associated measures among Asian-American adolescents. This study examined gambling perceptions and behaviors and health/functioning characteristics stratified by problem-gambling severity and Asian-American and Caucasian race using cross-sectional survey data of 121 Asian-American and 1659 Caucasian high-school students. Asian-American and Caucasian adolescents significantly differed on problem-gambling severity, with Asian-American adolescents more often reporting not gambling (24.8% vs. 16.4%), but when they did report gambling, they showed higher levels of at-risk/problem gambling (30.6% vs. 26.4%). Parental approval or disapproval of adolescent gambling also significantly differed between races, with Asian-American adolescents more likely to perceive both parental disapproval (50.0% vs. 38.2%) and approval (19.3% vs. 9.6%) of gambling. Asian-American adolescents were also more likely to express concern about gambling among close family members (25.2% vs. 11.6%). Among Asian-American adolescents, stronger associations were observed between at-risk/problem gambling and smoking cigarettes (interaction odds ratio=12.6). In summary, differences in problem-gambling severity and gambling perceptions indicate possible cultural differences in familial attitudes towards gambling. Stronger links between cigarette smoking and risky/problematic gambling amongst Asian-American adolescents suggest that prevention and treatment efforts targeting youth addictions consider cultural differences.

A pedagogical project as support for the treatment of drug addicted youth

A pedagogical project as support for the treatment of drug addicted youth

AS32-03 - Internet addictive behavior in childhood and adolescence

Pathological media use (PMU) seems to emerge as a major mental health problem in children and adolescents. Although not yet broadly recognised by addiction research, there exist clinical and neurobiological implications, that PMU resembles classical adolescent addiction patterns such as with marihuana or alcohol. As part of either the dependency or of the out-patient psychotherapy programs in a large mental hospital covering inner-city Berlin a diagnostic and treatment system was established in April 2009 for internet addicted youth. From 4–9/2009 we could administer 27 severe male “PMU”-cases with all signs of clinical dependency, both neuropsychological and somatic, including cardiovascular problems, severe craving and pseudo-hallucinations. 12 patients showed severe identity conflicts apart from their psychiatric disorders and chronic family conflicts. There seems to be a small but severely ill subgroup of multiple media users that develop social isolation, craving and other features of addiction. Using the clinical diagnosis PMU offering an out-patient approach must consider severe chronic intrapsychic conflict as well as psychiatric disorders. Obviously intense research as well in epidemiology as in clinical treatment is needed in this worldwide broadening area.

Scaling up the Knowledge to Achieve Aboriginal Wellness

Mental health is, in some ways, the most important health issue for Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, partly because it contributes both directly and indirectly to so much of the gap in health status, and perhaps even more importantly, because mental health issues are so neglected in our society, especially so for Aboriginal Peoples, where the gap in mental health research and services is particularly accentuated.' Recognizing and understanding the social determinants of health is key to understanding the problems, and in my view, key to achieving success in addressing and correcting those problems. It is important to realize that there are unique social determinants for Aboriginal Peoples associated with their cultures, histories, and colonization, and the current social, economic, political, and geographic context.2 In the first In Review article, Dr Colleen Anne Dell and colleagues3 describe their experiences with helping addicted First Nations youth at an Ontario native-run solvent-abuse treatment centre. Their experience and their study is an exercise in knowledge translation. They draw on a residential school treatment modality that is grounded in a culture-based model of resiliency. The youth they are trying to help are too young to have experienced residential schools, and, although they may be suffering from intergenerational trauma, the means of helping them lies in appealing to and reviving their cultural roots and evoking their resilience through that culture. Youth who come to the treatment centre for solvent abuse are introduced to the spirituality that is the lost part of their culture and their identity. Their identity as First Nations youth, and their inner spirit, has lain dormant, and needs to be revitalized. The whole family can benefit from this program, which is particularly important where the parents and even the grandparents have lost those connections and that identity. A consultation with an Elder and a sweat lodge ceremony are integral parts of the treatment program. The offering of blueberries as a traditional medicine, as an example, helps to make that connection with their cultural roots. Through the examples brought forward, these addicted youth have benefited from this culture-based approach to healing. So how do we translate the knowledge? How do we apply it to a different community, a different pathology, a different sociocultural context within our diverse community? How do we scale up the knowledge about what works? This is the critical point. If we improve the health of a small community, that is important, but, for every group such as the clients of the Nimkee Healing Centre, there are hundreds or even thousands more like them, but different. Blueberries are a particular thing, common in our country, but certainly not universal. Are strawberries the same as blueberries? The concept of blueberries, as a form of therapy - an adjunct or an amplifier - may be much closer to universal if we can just find the translation key. What is it about the blueberry treatment that worked? Knowledge translation is a vital part of our scientific arsenal that still needs refinement. In the second In Review article, Dr Laurence J Kirmayer and colleagues4 present 4 case studies in 4 different Aboriginal communities in Canada: 1 Inuit, 1 Metis, and 2 First Nations (Mi'kmaq and Mohawk). Their choices reflect only a small part of the diversity of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Again, there is no universal story, no universal solution, no magic pill that works for everyone. And yet there is a commonality in these 4 compelling stories. The commonality is in the incorporation of indigenous constructs in achieving wellness through resilience. …

Menthol cigarette smoking and nicotine dependence

Since tobacco use is driven by dependence on nicotine, the primary addictive substance in tobacco, much research has focused on nicotine dependence. Less well understood, however, is the role that menthol plays in nicotine dependence. This review seeks to examine what role, if any, menthol plays in nicotine addiction in adults and youth. Based on research examining several indicators of heaviness of nicotine addiction, including time to first cigarette upon waking, night waking to smoke, as well as some other indications of dependence, it is suggested that menthol cigarette smokers are more heavily dependent on nicotine. Although other indicators of nicotine dependence, including number of cigarettes per day and the Fagerstrom Test of Nicotine Dependence, failed to consistently differentiate menthol and non-menthol smokers, these indicators are thought to be less robust than time to first cigarette. Therefore, though limited, the existing literature suggests that menthol smokers may be more dependence on nicotine.

Meadows, A. (Ed.) (2011). Developments in music therapy practice: Case study perspectives. Gilsum: NH. Barcelona, 594 pages. P-ISBN 13: 978-1-891278-75-4 ($58). E-ISBN: 978-1-891278-76-1 $58.00

Meadows, A. (Ed.) (201 1). Developments in music therapy practice: Case study perspectives. Gilsum: NH. Barcelona, 594 pages. P-ISBN 13: 978-1-891278-754 ($58). E-ISBN: 978-1-891278-76-1 $58.00.Developments in Music Therapy Practice: Case Study Perspectives is the first case study text in more than a decade. The case study authors are internationally renowned music therapy clinicians and researchers who practice unique music therapy techniques from part of the world. In fact, over 60% of the cases are from outside of the United States.The text is divided into four parts by client life stage: children, adolescents, adults, older adults and end-of-life care. The introduction gives the reader a bird's-eye view of each case study and includes helpful tables that are organized by author, client(s), music therapy approach, music therapy experiences, and theoretical foundation(s). Meadows chooses to close the introduction with Wilber's (1995, 2000) Four-Quadrant View to further conceptualize the music therapy approach of the therapist and the supporting theory. The Four Quadrants are described as subjective-individual (I), objective-individual (It), subjective-collective (We), and objective-collective (They).Part I provides two case studies with premature infants (Chapters 1 & 2) and eight case studies that focus on music therapy with children with varied clinical diagnoses (chapters 3-10). Within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), case studies focus on auditive stimulation (Nocker-Ribaupierre) and a family-centered approach (Hillmer, Swedberg, & Standley) that emphasizes the establishment of the mother-infant bond. The case studies with children focus on using music to aid in the progression of the child's developmental stages, communication, and behavior. The variety of clinical diagnoses presented in these case studies are as follows; developmental^ delayed (Schwartz), Rett Syndrome (Elefant), depression (Oldfield), speech delay, Attention Deficit Disorder, autism (Crowe), Pervasive Developmental Disorder (Carpente), burns (Edwards & Kennel Iy), Down Syndrome (LaGasse), and aggressive behavior (Uhlig). Several models and approaches are described such as music therapy within a developmental framework, musical conversations, Interactive Music Therapy, Sensory Integration Model, Developmental Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based Floortime Model, Nordoff-Robbins Model, Neurologic Music Therapy, and Vocal Music Therapy. Case studies discuss how the child participates and how the child interacts in the music making as well as the child's interaction with the therapist. Family members are an instrumental component of a child's development; therefore, all case studies in Part I focus on the family member's role in the music making.Part Il (Chapters 11-15) includes courses of music therapy with both individuals and groups and most chapters include the therapists' reflections. Music therapists also shared their viewpoints on the pros and cons of treating both in-patient psychiatric clients and community-based groups. Case studies in Part Il are dedicated to music therapy treatment with adolescents with social and emotional difficulties. Music therapy addresses realistic issues that this age group faces such as depression (Erkkila), gang violence (Fouche & Torrance), grief (Kraut), drug addiction (McFerran), and at-risk youth (Pavlicevic). In these case studies, music therapy treatment addresses the client's needs through musical instrument instruction, drumming, song writing, and musical performance.Part III (Chapters 16-30) is the largest section in this text; therefore, it is further divided into subgroups of medical settings, addictions, psychiatry, healthy lifestyle, and older adults. The health needs of the clients in medical settings (Chapters 1 6-1 8) include multiple medical issues, severe head injury, depression, and spinal cord injury. Melodic Intonation Therapy was modified to focus on improving expressive communication skills with a head-injured aphasie client (Baker). …

Client characteristics within the Chilean National Youth Addiction Treatment Demonstration System

In the context of an evaluation of a national demonstration program for youth addiction treatment in Chile, a sociodemographic and substance use profile of children and adolescents accessing services through this new program was developed. Information regarding sociodemographic factors, substance use, and problem severity; services used; and unmet needs was retrospectively gathered for all clients (685) admitted between January 1 and June 30, 2006. Thirty-two treatment centers (91.4%) provided data. The client population profile reflected severe psychosocial circumstances (e.g., 61.4% early exit from school). Of the population, 64.9% were classified in the highest substance risk level. The primary drug reported was cocaine-paste-base (52.7%). Comparisons to similar data in other countries illustrate the more severe profile of this Chilean treatment sample. The results suggest the need for increased outreach and comprehensive intersectoral approaches. Monitoring and evaluation should become part of the culture of the national drug treatment system in Chile and other countries.

Extended vs. short-term buprenorphinenaloxone for treatment of opioid addicted youth: A randomized trial

Woody, George (USA); Poole, Sabrina; Subramaniam, Geetha; Dugosh, Karen; Bogenschutz, Michael; Abbott, Patrick; Patkar, Ashwin; Publicker, Mark; McCain, Karen; Potter, Jennifer Sharpe; Forman, Robert; Vetter, Victoria; McNicholas, Laura; Blaine, Jack; Lynch, Kevin; Fudala, Paul

Social recovery model: an 8-year investigation of adolescent 12-step group involvement following inpatient treatment.

Despite widespread use of 12-step treatment approaches and referrals to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) by youth providers, little is known about the significance of these organizations in youth addiction recovery. Furthermore, existing evidence is based mostly on short-term follow-up and is limited methodologically. Adolescent inpatients (n = 160; mean age = 16, 40% female) were followed at 6-months, and at 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 years posttreatment. Time-lagged, generalized estimating equations modeled treatment outcome in relation to AA/NA attendance controlling for static and time-varying covariates. Robust regression (locally weighted scatterplot smoothing) explored dose-response thresholds of AA/NA attendance on outcome. The AA/NA attendance was common and intensive early posttreatment, but declined sharply and steadily over the 8-year period. Patients with greater addiction severity and those who believed that they could not use substances in moderation were more likely to attend. Despite declining attendance, the effects related to AA/NA remained significant and consistent. Greater early participation was associated with better long-term outcomes. Even though many youth discontinue AA/NA over time, attendees appear to benefit, and more severely substance-involved youth attend most. Successful early posttreatment engagement of youth in abstinence-supportive social contexts, such as AA/NA, may have long-term implications for alcohol and drug involvement into young adulthood.

Youth smoking and addiction: evaluating the wisdom and efficacy of government intervention

Youth smoking and addiction: evaluating the wisdom and efficacy of government intervention

The Cult of Pharmacology: How America Became the World's Most Troubled Drug Culture (review)

Reviewed by: The Cult of Pharmacology: How America Became the World’s Most Troubled Drug Culture Carolyn T. de la Peña (bio) The Cult of Pharmacology: How America Became the World’s Most Troubled Drug Culture. By Richard DeGrandpre . Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2006. Pp. x+294. $24.95. Historians of technology will recognize the rejection of technological determinism in Richard DeGrandpre's The Cult of Pharmacology. Without ever using the term, DeGrandpre demonstrates the importance of considering technology within its social contexts. The single biggest factor concerning our troubled drug culture, he argues, is our inability to accurately assess what drugs do to those who use them. In spite of the claim by politicians, scientists, and the media that drugs have innate pharmacological effects, DeGrandpre wants readers to understand that "drug effects" are in fact far more profoundly influenced by the "whole set of beliefs, rituals and expectations [that] have been attached" to them than to the actual drugs themselves (p. 17). DeGrandpre, whose doctorate is in psychopharmacology, is most successful at demonstrating the flawed logic of what he terms "the cult of pharmacology" in the book's first three chapters. Here, case studies of Ritalin, cocaine, SSRIs, and tobacco enable him to demonstrate the myriad effects of such cultish thinking in American culture. Few may realize that Ritalin and cocaine are pharmacologically identical substances. The "cult" makes it difficult to address such an issue, DeGrandpre argues, given that Ritalin is classified as a "good" drug for enhancing kids' academic performance while cocaine is a "bad" drug that encourages youth addiction and deviance. His coverage of SSRIs allows DeGrandpre to suggest where the cult's power comes from: pharmaceutical companies (Big Pharma as he calls them) have actively covered up stories of horrific reactions (including suicide and murder) among "good drug users," while benefiting from media coverage of [End Page 668] "bad drug users" as those using illegal substances. The effect is to dissuade physicians and psychiatrists from closely monitoring prescription drug users for positive and negative effects. The Cult of Pharmacology has several discussions that will prove especially useful for historians of technology. First, chapter 3 on the Food and Drug Administration's efforts to prove tobacco "addictive" is a fascinating study of where meaning is determined in a technological substance. DeGrandpre's account of the FDA's investigation into cigarettes' addictive properties reveals that nicotine itself was incorrectly classified as addictive due to "cultish" thinking; the agency only pursued the regulation of cigarettes after concluding that nicotine was addictive and discovering that tobacco companies had been enhancing its content for years. DeGrandpre argues, however, that nicotine was never the sole source of addiction (example: there has never been a subset of "patch" addicts). Consumers actually found satisfaction through a decidedly "low tech" marriage of product and ritual (lighting, smelling, socializing), all readily available from the nineteenth-century process overseen by "cigarette girls" rolling out four per minute. Second, DeGrandpre's brief analysis of the effect of regulations on opiate abuse reveals the importance of looking to the structural factors that enable technologies to have very different meanings across divides of class and race. In the case of opiates, only after therapeutic use declined in the early twentieth century did "addicts" emerge. Prior to this, DeGrandpre argues, white women with status commonly took opiates in elixirs and tonics. The American Medical Association's regulation of the drug market during the Progressive Era resulted in two categories of drug users: those with access to prescriptions for medically necessary mood enhancements and those "addicted" to such enhancements, who were relegated to black markets and back alleys (a divide that continues today). Third, DeGrandpre understands the science of pharmacology sufficiently to explain how these substances actually work. His efforts thus provide an important foundation for historians who will seek to put the findings in broader cultural context. Two minor critiques of the text also point to its strengths. It is repetitious: halfway through the book the reader tends to agree that culture must be considered (earlier if she is a practitioner of cultural studies). Yet the very return to this theme, in study after study, leaves one convinced...

Youth Addiction to Cybersex Is Pervasive Problem

Youth Addiction to Cybersex Is Pervasive Problem

HIV and Hepatitis C Outbreaks Among High-risk Youth in Vancouver Demands a Public Health Response

This paper is a call to action. We present Kaplan Meier cumulative HIV and HCV incidence rates among youth aged < or = 24 participating in the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS), and demonstrate the alarming increase in HIV and HCV incidence rates in addicted youth. The incidence rates among VIDUS youth were 11.1% for HIV and 52.1% for HCV at 36 months after enrollment in the study. The growing epidemic of HIV and HCV among addicted youth calls for policy-makers and program planners to concentrate resources into prevention and treatment of blood-borne infections among British Columbia's vulnerable youth. Without focussing such resources, further HIV and HCV infections and subsequent higher health care costs appear imminent.

Certification and Program Regulations for Inpatient Services to Youth with Addiction: A State-Level Analysis†

Recent evidence has indicated that the prevalence of addiction in youth is far higher than previously expected. High demand for services to this population require attention to programs providing interventions, in particular to the regulations and structures that assure youth receive quality services. Thus, the current research examines state-level certification and program requirements for inpatient youth facilities. Current data (from August 2002 through July 2003) on state-level regulations was collected from a variety of sources. Wherever possible, confirmation was sought from multiple sources. Multiple authors interpreted information. Youth with addictions are currently being treated across a wide variety of governmental agencies. Level of detail and clarity of information varied widely, as did distinctness of youth requirements from adult ones. Adequate regulatory attention was evident in a minority of states, while a handful of states did little or nothing to distinguish youth from adult services. While it is undoubtedly the case that providers within each state offer outstanding services, there is often little or no available protection for these youth through governmental regulations. Attention is needed in almost all states to providing additional regulations and program requirements that assure youth consistency in service quality. Recommendations are made for standards of certification requirements. †The authors would like to thank William Cartwright at NIDA, Randolph Muck at CSAT, and Katherine Kraft and Kristen Schubert at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for encouraging and supporting this research, as well as Karen Truscott and Sarah Hunter, our indefatigable research team.

Regulatory strategies to reduce tobacco addiction in youth

Preventing tobacco addiction and achieving cessation in established users are the cornerstones of efforts to reduce tobacco use and disease. It has been increasingly recognised that reducing tobacco toxin exposure...

Developing Treatment for Tobacco Addicted Youth–Issues and Challenges

SUMMARY It is now clear that adolescence is not only the primary time during which cigarette smoking is initiated; it is also the time during which the transition from experimentation to some level of dependence occurs. As discussed in this review, by age 18 approximately two-thirds of cigarette smokers regret having started smoking, one-half have already made a quit attempt, and nearly 40% have some interest in obtaining treatment for their dependence. Unfortunately, treatment in young people has not kept pace with the emerging need for treatment and many fundamental issues require study; in fact it is not clear the degree to which adult-validated treatments, such as nicotine replacement therapies, will be of comparable levels of benefit and risk in young people. The issues that require research include (1) a thorough consideration of adolescent nicotine dependence and potential pharmacologic adjuncts, (2) a consideration of social, health, risk perception, and intrapersonal factors that may facilitate or inhibit cessation attempts of maintenance among youth, and (3) advanced youth cessation trials research designs and measurement. We conclude that although the research challenges are many and diverse, all are surmountable by concerted efforts, and the opportunity to reduce the current projections of premature tobacco-caused mortality in one-third to one-half of cigarette smoking youth strongly argue for such efforts.

Youth crisis: growing up in the high-risk society

What is the social condition of youth in modern society? This is the question taken up by this passionate and substantive book. The author argues that youth are at a crisis state. The crisis has been brought about by the general state of social crisis; violence, questions of political legitimacy, educational decline; as well as the decline of compassion as a core principle of culture. The author draws on a variety of trends and scholarly research to examine the problems of growing up in a high risk society and offers pathways to spiritual renewal and cultural renewal, esential for salvaging the next generation. The study takes on the youth crisis as a compelling public issue, exploring various manifestations of the crisis; endangered youth, gang participation, youth addictions, unworkable schools, violence in the home and on the streets, homelessness, and the near genocidal conditions that plague African American and urban youth. Students, educators, and policy makers, as well as anyone interested in the plight of youth and the steps necessary to successfully overcome the crisis will find this book invaluable and memorable.

Nicotine Addiction: Implications for Public Health Policy

Although the morbidity and mortality caused by cigarette smoking occur in adulthood, the initiation of tobacco use and the development of nicotine addiction typically occur during adolescence. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of nicotine addiction, focusing on the development of addiction in youth, and to explore implications for public health policy. An understanding of the pharmacological and nonpharmacological factors that determine the course of nicotine addiction is critical in developing rational policies regarding tobacco products. The Food and Drug Administration's rule to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products is discussed. The fact that smokers typically make the transition from casual use to nicotine addiction during adolescence argues for developing and implementing effective prevention efforts and smoking cessation treatment programs that are youth‐oriented.

Nicotine Addiction: Implications for Public Health Policy

Although the morbidity and mortality caused by cigarette smoking occur in adulthood, the initiation of tobacco use and the development of nicotine addiction typically occur during adolescence. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of nicotine addiction, focusing on the development of addiction in youth, and to explore implications for public health policy. An understanding of the pharmacological and nonpharmacological factors that determine the course of nicotine addiction is critical in developing rational policies regarding tobacco products. The Food and Drug Administration's rule to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products is discussed. The fact that smokers typically make the transition from casual use to nicotine addiction during adolescence argues for developing and implementing effective prevention efforts and smoking cessation treatment programs that are youth-oriented.