Increased HIV Risk Associated with Criminal Justice Involvement among Men on Methadone

This paper examines the relationship between HIV risk and criminal justice involvement among a random sample of 356 men enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment programs in New York City. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the associations between measures of criminal justice involvement and participant HIV risk, controlling for socio-demographic variables. A lifetime history of incarceration was significantly associated with being HIV positive (Adjusted OR = 5.08). Recent arrest was associated with unprotected vaginal sex and having multiple female sexual partners. Sex trading was associated with both arrest and incarceration, and the strongest association was found between selling sex and recent incarceration (Adjusted OR = 5.69). Results suggest that recent criminal justice involvement among men with substance abuse histories is associated with increased HIV risk behaviors. Findings underscore the need for targeted HIV prevention efforts for men on methadone with a recent history of arrest or incarceration. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Occupational Risk Factors Associated with Alcohol and Drug Problems

Ames and Janes provide a theoretical framework that explains alcohol and/or drug problems among workers . Existing studies of occupational risk factors for alcohol and drug problems across multiple occupations and industries provide mixed findings with respect to Ames and Janes' framework. In a preliminary study, the relationships between occupational characteristics and measures of alcohol and drug problems were investigated among a sample of workers from a variety of occupations and industry settings. Some support was found for all of the major elements of Ames and Janes' framework: normative regulation of drinking, quality and organization of work, workplace factors, and drinking subcultures.     

Barriers to Entry into 12-Step Mutual Help Groups among Justice-Involved Women with Alcohol Use Disorders

Although involvement in 12-Step mutual help groups (TMGs) is an accessible and effective means of addressing alcohol problems, many justice-involved women do not attend. This study examined barriers to TMG attendance for 135 justice-involved women with alcohol use disorders. TMG attenders were more likely than nonattenders to say their past contacts with people in TMGs were not helpful (χ² = 4.91, p = .027); nonattenders were more likely to report that they did not want to change (χ² = 7.58, p = .006). Findings provide guidance on how to enhance interest in and attendance at TMGs among justice-involved women returning to the community.     

Toward an Alcohol Treatment Model: A Comparison of Treated and Untreated Respondents with DSM-IV Alcohol Use Disorders in the General Population

The purpose of this study was to compare characteristics of person with alcohol use disorders who sought alcohol treatment with those who did not using data from a nationally representative sample of the United States. Applying an organizing framework from the larger literature on service utilization, a logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the interaction among factors influencing treatment. The results identified unemployment status and lower educational level as barriers to alcohol treatment, but the impact of these factors differed depending on whether the respondent had previous experience with alcohol treatment. The major findings of this study are discussed in terms of consumer satisfaction, minimizing barriers to alcohol treatment services, and the need to examine individual determinants of alcohol treatment within the larger context of organizational and sociopolitical factors.     

Can Creative Writing,as an Add-on to Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder,Support Rehabilitation?

ABSTRACT

Creative writing may help patients find new powers in the acts of making art and expanding horizons beyond illness, including addiction. The aim of the present pilot study was to introduce creative writing workshops to alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients and investigate self-perceived rehabilitating impact, improvement in quality of life, and executive functions. The study was conducted in a mixed methods design; primarily semi-structured group and individual interviews as well as participant observation, supplemented by a small evaluation questionnaire at baseline and follow-up at the end of exposure. The patients had experienced the workshop as having influenced their lives in a positive direction, impacted by doing creative writing, sharing and receiving feedback, and the community of the group. The patients perceived both advantages and disadvantages about discussing alcohol in the workshop. The patients experienced an increase in quality of life from the beginning to the end of the workshop. There could be a need for creative writing workshops as add-ons to ordinary AUD treatment. In such an offer, creative writing might function as a means to improve patient rehabilitation, quality of life, and executive functions.