Promoting family meals is a popular prevention strategy. A recently published study looks at its impact: Family meals were associated with reductions in alcohol and tobacco consumption in girls but not boys. Alcohol consumption was also associated with reductions in the frequency of meals among girls, but not boys. Results supported the assertion that family … Continue reading Family meals appear to be protective for girls
Category: Research
Confidence schmonfidence
Here's a finding that suggests some kinds of self-efficacy can be harmful to drinking outcomes: Results indicated that the group falsely led to believe that they had a high level of drinking restraint subsequently consumed more beer than the group led to believe that they had a low level of drinking restraint. This study demonstrates … Continue reading Confidence schmonfidence
Connection and confidence keys to success with AA
In a new study, researchers used data from Project MATCH to illuminate the specific effects of AA attendance: Overall results indicated that greater participation in AA during the first three months of the study period was independently associated with more successful recovery over the following year. Of the behavioral changes associated with AA attendance, changes … Continue reading Connection and confidence keys to success with AA
Keep fit | Get happy
Exercise provides significant benefit for more than half of subject with depression that did not respond to SSRIs: Study participants diagnosed with depression, who ranged in age from 18 to 70 and who had not remitted with treatment using a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant medication, were divided into two groups. Each group received a … Continue reading Keep fit | Get happy
Surprisingly high 12-Step attendance?
More evidence that women (Young women, in this case.) affiliate with and benefit from AA at rates at least as high as men. (More here.) It has been assumed that young women often don’t engage in 12-Step meeting environments, because they see them as a male-dominated atmosphere. Yet that notion has rarely been subjected to critical analysis, … Continue reading Surprisingly high 12-Step attendance?
Drug courts reduce drug use, reduce crime and save money
Remember this Spring's reports that drug courts don't work? Well, a large study concludes the following: The most extensive study of drug courts—a five-year examination of 23 courts and six comparison jurisdictions in eight states—found that these court programs can significantly decrease drug use and criminal behavior, with positive outcomes ramping upward as participants sensed their judge … Continue reading Drug courts reduce drug use, reduce crime and save money
Spiritual retreat reduces depression in cardiac patients
A little new age for me, but an interesting finding: Attending a non-denominational spiritual retreat can help patients with severe heart trouble feel less depressed and more hopeful about the future, a University of Michigan Health System study has found. Heart patients who participated in a four-day retreat that included techniques such as meditation, guided … Continue reading Spiritual retreat reduces depression in cardiac patients
Cherry-picking evidence?
Scientific American gives ink to a treatment critic: I don't believe that traditional rehabilitation using self-help methods is effective. In fact, the data suggest that they're not much better than spontaneous rates of recovery. He cites one study that looked only at alcohol dependence (DSM dependence which is likely to capture many people that may not be alcoholics, in … Continue reading Cherry-picking evidence?
Not qualified for getting their driving license?
A study of psychomotor and cognitive function reaches this conclusion: Patients receiving a stable dose of sublingual buprenorphine showed no significant impairment of complex psychomotor or cognitive performance as compared to healthy controls. However intake of illicit drugs as well as the lack of social reliability are major problems in this specific patients group. Despite … Continue reading Not qualified for getting their driving license?
Brain training
A treatment provider makes the case for mindfulness as recovery tool: For many years, scientists believed that the brain’s plasticity, that is, its ability to create new structures and learn, was limited after childhood. However, new research shows that we can alter the structure of the brain and reap the benefits well into adulthood. Sara … Continue reading Brain training
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