Alcohol use disorder prevalence
by
Jason Schwartz, LMSW
I saw this yesterday and feared that alcoholism research was going the same route as research on psychiatric prevalence--finding implausibly high rates of disorders. A 20% lifetime rate of dependence for men would either be false or demonstrate the uselessness of dependence criteria. Reading the press release left me confused about whether that 20 ...
Read on »
Alcohol Use and Pneumonia Post-Surgery
by
Jeremiah D.
Excessive alcohol use is responsible for a myriad of health-related issues in this country, at a cost of billions of dollars per year. It also indirectly impacts other medical and ment ...
Read on »
Winter Formals and How To Help Teens Avoid Alcohol Use
by
Lisa Frederiksen
There is much discussion amongst parents about school dances and transportation — should they hire a limo, host a mini-van, share driving amongst the parents, let the teens drive? Underlying these discussions are admonishments not to drink, not to drive with someone who has been drinking and to carry phone numbers and cash to call a cab, &ld ...
Read on »
Where Does Your State Stand? SAMHSA Reports Alcohol Use By State
by
Lisa Frederiksen
... bstance abuse and mental health illness patterns based on the 2006 and 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Here are some of the key findings with regards to alcohol use/abuse:In 2006-2007, the rate of past month alcohol use in States among all persons aged 12 or older ranged from a low of 30.9 percent in Utah to a high of 63.1 per ...
Read on »
Alcohol Use, Abuse, Dependence, and Addiction
by
Noah R.3 Comments
... e heavily weighted towards a diagnosis of addiction justifying punitive treatment approaches and “abstinence only” outcomes. In reality, many different degrees of alcohol use exist, and the following thumbnail guide can be helpful in deciding what category is appropriate, and in predicating various – as well as usual - outcomes.He ...
Read on »
Worried About Your Teen’s Alcohol Use? Consider the CRAFFT Screening Tool
by
Lisa Frederiksen
by Lisa FrederiksenThere are a number of short assessment / screening tools for anonymously assessing your or someone else’s drinking, such as: CAGE, WHO Audit, NIAAA Clinician’s Guide and NIAAA’s Rethinking Drinking. Keep in mind that when done by a layperson, these tools are for assessing NOT diagnosing. They are simply a way of ...
Read on »
Good News - Teen Drug and Alcohol Use Continue to Decline
by
Jeremiah D.
Over at In the News, Dr. Franklin has a post about the continuing decline of drug and alcohol use among teens. Links to the original report, graphs, and a slide presentation are available. The two drops that stand out for me were Ecstasy (54%) and methampheta ...
Read on »
When Alcohol Used As A Crutch - Problem Drinking Can Worsen
by
Dr. Michael P.
Why do people in general consume alcohol? Is it because they like the taste of an exotic cocktail, or they want to appear sociable when in the company of others who are drinking? Or maybe they like the way one drink helps them relax just the tiniest bit or they enjoy a fine glass of wine with certain foods. These are totally acceptable reasons for ...
Read on »
Early Drug and Alcohol Use Has Long-lasting Effects
by
Dr. Laura F.
My students are very aware that I have an unusually negative view of chemically altering the human nervous system (with, of course, the exception of my favorite drug of choice–caffeine). I think it’s just fair to let students know if you bring this type of bias into the classroom–sort of a truth in packaging thing. I think working ...
Read on »
3 Comments
