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Biomedical subjects

N R Kurtz

Publications and source records attributed to N R Kurtz.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Coping methods and reasons for not drinking.

Methods for coping with stress and reasons for not drinking were examined among abstinent alcoholics to determine whether change occurred with length of sobriety. Results showed that 1) alcoholics with briefer abstinence relied more heavily on coping methods, 2) alcoholics relied less on negative than positive coping methods regardless of length of sobriety, and 3) the number and types of reasons for not drinking did not vary with length of sobriety, rather, several positive reasons for not drinking continued as motivators. Concerning coping methods, the authors speculate that as alcoholics remain sober longer, coping methods become less important or automatic and less conscious.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1986

Deterrence of drunk driving in Massachusetts: criminal justice system impacts.

This paper examines the extent to which a "toughened" drunk driving law in Massachusetts has deterred drunk driving and the law's impact on criminal justice system operations. Included are analyses of pre- to postlaw trends in: alcohol-related highway fatalities and arrests, drunk driving arraignments and convictions, and jail sentences served by drunk driving offenders. Many of the positive trends found since the implementation of the law (increased arrests, reduced fatalities, and increased conviction rates) actually began before the law took effect. Moreover, the law has exacerbated existing problems in the criminal justice system such as overcrowded jails.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1984

Measuring the success of occupational alcoholism programs.

The research on the success of occupational alcoholism programs (OAPs) was reviewed. One measure of the success of OAPs has been a change in drinking behavior. This may seem like the most relevant measure but there are questions about its reliability because researchers usually depend on subjects' self-reports and do not define their criteria for successful outcome well. In addition, attempts by employers to dictate the drinking habits of their employees may be difficult to justify. Varying rates of success on this measure have been reported. Subjects have generally been able to control drinking in the long term, but it is suggested that their control erodes over time. A second measure of the success of OAPs has been work performance, as revealed by absenteeism, disciplinary actions, accidents, sick and injured days taken, turnover rate and job efficiency. Studies of this measure have been hindered by employers' poor record keeping and by the difficulty of developing standard measures of outcome success. In general, studies with weaker research designs have shown more improvement on this measure. A third measure has been the cost efficiency of OAPs, as revealed by direct savings for employers resulting from OAPs such as decreases in absenteeism and indirect savings such as increased accuracy of work. This measure seems to be the one most relevant to employers' profit motives. Studies of cost efficiency have had ambiguous findings. A fourth measure has been the penetration rate--the extent to which an OAP reaches its target population. This measure has never been studied successfully. A problem with all the studies reviewed has been their poor design (a lack of control groups, follow-up periods that were too brief and problems with selection of subjects), which raises serious questions about their validity. The obstacles to measuring outcome success were also discussed--poor documentation by employers, lack of access to subjects and reluctance on the part of employers and treatment staff to allow studies.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1979

Pain as a joint function of alcohol intake and customary reasons for drinking.

Nonalcoholics who, on a problem drinking inventory, responded "yes" to items reflecting a psychological dependence on alcohol, tended after alcohol ingestion to report a decrease in pain experienced in a cold pressor test. Conversely, those whose responses indicated no psychological dependence on alcohol tended to report pain increases after the consumption of alcohol.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The employee as client: perceptions of a work-based alcohol treatment program.

The clients' reports provide invaluable insights into the EAP in which they participated. Overall, they reaffirmed the viability of occupational alcoholism programs as an effective intervention in problem drinking. They did raise serious questions about the fit between the theoretical expectations of EAPs and actual practice. They felt work performance problems were poorly documented and therefore were not used in the confrontation-referral process. As a consequence, early problem identification, seen as one of the major advantages of occupational intervention, does not seem to take place. Most of the clients felt they were referred only after long periods of problem drinking. While the reports of the clients represent an insider's view of the EAP, an obvious question that arises is how valid are their reports? Precisely because they are the targets of the EAP activity and because their problem drinking is generally seen as deviant behavior, their reports may be clouded by fear, rationalization, attempts to please others in the work organization and endless other personal concerns. The validity of self-reports are always difficult to assess. The usual precautions were taken in collecting the data, including assurance of confidentiality, voluntary participation in the study, assurance that the research team was independent of any work-related interest group and the use of neutral grounds for data collection. While all of these add some measure of confidence to the reports, they do not constitute guarantees of validity. Another source of evidence for validity is corroborating evidence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alcohol Drinking↗