Biomedical subjects

N Ralph

Publications and source records attributed to N Ralph.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1996

Treatment outcomes in an adolescent chemical dependency program.

A study was conducted of treatment outcomes for all admissions to an adolescent chemical dependency program over a ten-month period. Parents of patients were interviewed regarding their adolescents past behavioral characteristics, recovery-oriented behaviors, drug use status, and adaptive behavior before and after discharge. Among the adolescents 26% had a history of special education placement; 12% had been diagnosed as being hyperactive; 57% had not used any drugs or alcohol since discharge from the treatment program, and this rate increased to 82% for use within the past month. Parents of adolescents who had used drugs or alcohol after treatment most often described it as either a brief relapse, or a series of relapses, or lower levels of use than prior to admission. According to parents estimates, 17% of adolescents were using more than 10% of the time since discharge. The effect of various pre-treatment and treatment factors on outcomes were investigated. Better treatment outcome was associated with older adolescents, greater participation in aftercare, and less time passage since discharge. Retrospective ratings by parents of adolescents regarding depressed, delinquent, and hyperactive behaviors showed that before admission all scales were in a "clinical range." After discharge all scales were in the normal range except for girls, who showed a borderline clinical elevation on depressed behaviors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Assessing differences in chemically dependent adolescent males using the Child Behavior Checklist.

A study was conducted with 59 chemically dependent (CD) male adolescents (ages 13 to 16) using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBC). The CD sample was compared to a normative group on four adaptive behavior scales and twelve behavior problem scales, and was found to be significantly different on all measures. The CD sample was also compared to a general clinical group on nine behavior problem scales, and was found to score significantly higher on scales measuring delinquent and uncommunicative behaviors, and significantly lower on scales measuring immature and hostile-withdrawn behaviors. Summary profile types were compared with the clinical population and a separate assaultive/aggressive population. More of the CD population fit an uncommunicative/delinquent profile type and relatively fewer fit schizoid and immature/aggressive profile types as compared to the two other groups. The CBC differentiated subgroups in the CD sample with respect to completion of treatment and type of drug used, but not motivation for treatment at admission.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

Contraceptive practices among female heroin addicts.

In a sample of 115 heroin-addicted women, 25.8 per cent reported any type of contraception compared to 48.5 per cent of a national sample. Matching for age, ethnic group, and income level, reported contraceptive rates for the heroin-addicted sample versus the national sample for the never married, married, and formerly married groups were 40.1 per cent versus 37.7 per cent; 64.9 per cent versus 22.0 per cent; and 51.9 per cent versus 19.9 per cent, respectively.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

Psychosocial characteristics of pregnant and nulliparous adolescents.

A case control study was carried out with 19 pregnant and 20 nulliparous fifteen- and sixteen-year-old black teenage women patients at an adolescent clinic. Both groups were measured on twenty-one variables, which included personal and family history information as well as scores on twelve scales of adolescent psychosocial adjustment. A stepwise discriminant analysis was carried out comparing both groups. The first analysis using only psychosocial adjustment variables did not significantly discriminate between the two groups. The second analysis used family history and psychosocial adjustment variables and had a multiple correlation of .65, with p = .008. The discriminant function generated was able to correctly classify 89.5% of the pregnant group and 80% of the nulliparous group. The pregnant group had lower maternal educational level, later sex education, more brothers, better family adjustment, but poorer vocational adjustment. The study suggests that distinct characteristics do exist for the pregnant adolescent in the population studied, but that such characteristics do not indicate family or psychological disturbance in pregnant adolescents. Further, the importance of the meaning of adolescent pregnancy within different cultural and socioeconomic contexts is discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

An evaluation of an adolescent family planning program.

The family planning program of an adolescent care clinic (ACC) was evaluated to determine its effect on the teenage birth rate. The ACC was attempting to provide more accessible family planning services to a low-income, minority teenage population. The first evaluation compared the teenage birth rate for the target area served by the ACC with a matched area for 4 years before the ACC began offering services ("pre-intervention") and four years after ("post-intervention"). The two groups did not differ for the pre-intervention period, but the ACC target area had a lower birth rate for the post-intervention period (p = 0.015). The second evaluation was designed to compare the teenage birth rate within the target area for adolescents using the ACC and those not using the service for one year. Adjusting for age and race, the rate for the ACC was 58.0 births per 1,000 and for the non-ACC group, 112.4 births per 1,000 (p less than 0.001). The results suggest the importance of providing accessible family planning services for adolescents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1982

Adolescent health in Alameda County.

A cross-sectional study of 194 adolescents in Alameda County, California, was performed to investigate health care behavior, personal adjustment, substance abuse, and medical and dental morbidity. A multivariate analysis of this sample using age, sex, ethnic group, and family type as independent variables was carried out. Females were less likely than males to have a regular place for medical care, and youths belonging to single parent families were less likely than those from intact families. Older adolescents, blacks and Hispanics used hospitals and clinics more frequently, while whites used private physicians more frequently than did other ethnic groups. Also blacks and Hispanics were less likely to have received recent dental care than whites. Levels of substance abuse were comparable to national levels, and increased significantly with age. Though overall medical morbidity was low, the study confirms previous findings of significant levels of dental decay particularly in black youth. A significant relation exists between less dental care and dental decay, though no such relation exists between medical care and medical morbidity. The study has potential implications for better preventive approaches to adolescent health care.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Diagnosing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities with chemically dependent adolescents.

The diagnosis and treatment of chemically dependent adolescents with a second diagnosis of learning disabilities (LD) or an attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) poses a challenge. Like other so-called dual diagnoses, these conditions must be assessed against the background "noise" of the adolescent chemical dependency syndrome. This syndrome is coincident with the onset and cessation of chemical dependence and abuse. A diagnostic framework for assessing chemically dependent adolescents is presented, with specific reference to the differential diagnosis of LD and ADHD from other conditions. The role of LD and ADHD is assessed with regard to being a risk factor for chemical dependence in adolescence. Treatment approaches, on both an inpatient and outpatient basis, with the chemically dependent adolescent who also has an LD or ADHD are discussed.

Adolescent↗