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Biomedical subjects

W Feigelman

Publications and source records attributed to W Feigelman.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Problem gamblers, problem substance users, and dual-problem individuals: an epidemiological study.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared problem gamblers, problem substance users, dual-problem individuals, and persons without these problems in the general population. METHODS: On the basis of computer-assisted telephone interviews of a random sample of Texas adults (n = 6308) standard instruments were used to gauge substance use and gambling problems in the general population. RESULTS: Compared with those having a substance use or gambling problem only, dual-problem individuals were more likely to be young, never-married men, without conventional religious affiliations. There was more dysfunctionality (as evidenced by treatment-seeking and problems with the law) among dual-problem respondents than among those troubled exclusively by gambling or substance use problems. CONCLUSIONS: Screening and treatment for gambling problems should be offered in drug treatment and criminal justice arenas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Pathological gambling among methadone patients.

This paper examines the correlates of problem gambling among a population of 220 methadone patients receiving treatment in the New York metropolitan area. Like most methadone patients, respondents were primarily adult males, ethnically mixed, of limited educational accomplishment and had long experiences with intravenous drug use. More than two-thirds of subjects had been convicted of one or more criminal offences. Analysis of the data showed seven percent of respondents to be probable pathological gamblers according to the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), indicating a high rate of gambling problems among this treatment population. Consistent with past studies, problem gamblers are more likely to be men, with histories of alcohol abuse, and with extensive criminal participation dating back to their teenage years. The data also suggested that problem gamblers who were also drug dependent were more likely to show greater evidence of social dysfunctionality compared to those who were exclusively substance abusers. More dually addicted respondents reported higher levels of recent heroin use, greater unemployment, and more reported hallucinations. Probable pathological gamblers who were substance abusers were also more likely to report being in conflict with their close friends. A multiple regression analysis suggested this to be the closest linked correlate to being a pathological gambler. Evidently, pathological gamblers create antipathy towards themselves as their compulsion to gamble is expressed; this in turn, may drive them toward further gambling, as they respond to this perceived opposition. These last preliminary findings will require further confirmation in future research.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Probing the paradoxical pattern of cigarette smoking among African-Americans: low teenage consumption and high adult use.

Based on secondary analysis of the 1990 California Tobacco Survey, of 24,296 adult and 7,767 adolescent respondents, this study investigates the enigmatic results established by past research, of comparatively low prevalence rates of smoking among African-American adolescents and high use patterns for African-American adults. Findings support the crossover hypothesis claiming that more young adult White smokers successfully relinquish cigarette use than same aged African-Americans. When Whites and Blacks were grouped according to gender and age, findings showed African-American males between ages eighteen to twenty-four and females between ages twenty-five and forty-four were less likely to be among the ranks of former smokers than their same aged and gender White counterparts. The findings suggest that targeting these groups for more antismoking information and for opportunities to participate in smoking cessation programs may be helpful to reduce the higher smoking rates now found among African-American adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Cigarette smoking among former military service personnel: a neglected social issue.

BACKGROUND: This article investigates cigarettes smoking among active military personnel, veterans, and comparable civilian populations. METHODS: It is based on secondary analysis of archival data from the General Social Surveys and the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth. RESULTS: Findings were consistent with past research, indicating higher smoking rates for current active military personnel than for civilians. Among men and women who were in their thirties during the early 1980s, findings suggest that military personnel and civilians alike exhibited the same tendency toward cigarette use and initiated smoking at approximately the same ages. General Social Surveys and National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth data suggest that military smoking did not appear to be a situational behavior which occurred only during a recruit's tour of duty; results also suggest that previous military experience was associated with higher lifelong patterns of cigarette consumption, compared to those who had never been in the armed services. CONCLUSIONS: This evidence suggests that the military--as the nation's largest employer, with an immense influence upon civilian relations--exerts a force of considerable magnitude thwarting national goals to achieve reduced cigarette consumption.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Day-care treatment for multiple drug abusing adolescents: social factors linked with completing treatment.

By identifying some of the social correlates linked with completing day-care drug abuse treatment, the present study has sought to broaden understanding of how drug rehabilitations are effected. As the findings have demonstrated, completing care is a result of a complex array of causes and their interaction. The disposition of the entering patient (i.e., their determination and other strengths) has a great bearing on treatment outcome. It is also a result of the patient's family, their motivations, resources and perseverance in enduring a long course of demanding therapeutic interventions. In addition, it is the product of meanings shared and transmitted between the patient's family and the treatment staff. Patients and their families project positive attitudes about the value of the therapeutic enterprise as well as a compliant demeanor. As staff recognize that patients and parents are acting cooperatively, then such perceptions tend to create self-fulfilling prophecies. The data has established that older adolescent patients are more likely to possess the motivational resources needed for program completion than younger patients. Apparently, self-referred patients are also more inclined to meet the demands of program requirements than those referred by the courts or other outside social agencies, although the differences fell short of the .05 level of statistical significance. Those completing the program are less likely to be diagnosed as depressed at intake. Parental characteristics comprise another group of variables that are related to treatment completion. Parents of higher occupational rank, who have had mental health care for themselves, and who are of Jewish ethnicity appear to possess useful strengths for meeting program challenges. The pattern of spouse mutuality in dealing with a child's needs as it exists preceding and during treatment seems to be another useful asset for successfully getting through this form of treatment. While parents with the above characteristics possess resources that help them to endure the rigors inherent in this form of care, these attributes help project positive images to professional staff about family and patient commitment to treatment. The results of the present study also suggest that certain familial structural arrangements either facilitate or impede program completion. Three particular types of family structures were linked with remaining in treatment longer or finishing: (1) children who were the only children in their families who were living at home; (2) children with siblings who had been in treatment at the program; and (3) children without older brothers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Toward explaining the higher incidence of cigarette smoking among black Americans.

Using the 1987 General Social Survey data, the factors related to the disproportionately higher rates of cigarette smoking by Black Americans were investigated. Previous studies have found smoking to be highly correlated with age, social class, and occupational stress, among other factors. It is uncertain whether race is an independent predictor of smoking rates or whether it is primarily a correlate of other demographic variables. Loglinear modeling and logit regression analysis suggested that racial differences between Blacks and Whites in smoking may be spurious. The multivariate analysis established that class and stress differences remained more potent than race in accounting for variations in smoking behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Correlates of persisting drug use among former youth multiple drug abuse patients.

This analysis is based on a follow-up study of 48 White male young adults who had been former youth multiple drug abuse patients in day-care treatment. For the most part, these respondents came from middle-class homes. As youthful offenders, many had been sent into treatment as an alternative to incarceration. Approximately six years after terminating their day-care treatments, interview data were collected when most were in their middle twenties. Consistent with previous research, those consuming more drugs were found to be more likely to have resisted treatment, to have trouble with the law, to have poorer work histories and diminished educational attainments, and they showed evidence of poorer psychological health. Surprisingly, the data also indicated that high-volume drug users were more likely to be living in their parental homes, compared to those whose drug use patterns were more moderate. It is suggested that the pattern of taking up residence with one's parents while drug dependent may be encouraged by parental enabling. The implications of these findings for guiding efforts in substance abuse treatment are discussed.

Adult↗