Formal Treatment, Self-Help, or No Treatment for Alcohol-Use Disorders? Evidence from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

Alcohol-related help-seeking in problem drinking women sexual assault survivors

In 2002-2003 correlates of alcohol-related help-seeking were studied in women sexual assault survivors who were current problem drinkers (N = 526) in a large metropolitan area. Volunteer participants completed several valid and reliable instruments (i.e., the TWEAK, GFM, and MAST), which assessed alcohol use and misuse and related help-seeking. Data were analyzed using logistic regression models. Results suggest that correlates of women survivors' alcohol-related help-seeking vary depending on the specific source. Limitations and implications are noted and recommendations for future research are made. This study was funded by the National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

An ongoing process: a qualitative study of how the alcohol-dependent free themselves of addiction through progressive abstinence

BACKGROUND

Most people being treated for alcoholism are unable to successfully quit drinking within their treatment programs. In few cases do we know the full picture of how abstinence is achieved in Taiwan. We tracked processes of abstinence in alcohol-dependency disorders, based on study evidence and results. This research explores the process of recovery from the viewpoint of the alcohol-dependent.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted in two different settings, using purpose sampling, during 2003-2004. The data were analyzed using content analysis. Participants were 32 adults, purposefully selected from an Alcoholics Anonymous group and a psychiatric hospital in North Taiwan.

RESULTS

We found that the abstinence process is an ongoing process, in which the alcohol-dependent free themselves of addiction progressively. This process never ends or resolves in complete recovery. We have identified three stages in the struggle against alcoholism: the Indulgence, Ambivalence and Attempt (IAA) cycle, in which the sufferer is trapped in a cycle of attempting to give up and failing; the Turning Point, in which a Personal Nadir is reached, and the Ongoing Process of abstinence, in which a constant effort is made to remain sober through willpower and with the help of support groups. We also discuss Influencing Factors that can derail abstinence attempts, pushing the sufferer back into the IAA cycle.

CONCLUSION

This study provides important points of reference for alcohol and drug service workers and community healthcare professionals in Taiwan, casting light on the abstinence process and providing a basis for intervention or rehabilitation services.

How should alcohol dependence be treated? The public view

AIMS

The aim of this study was to assess public preferences on sources of help and treatment, and perception of prognosis for alcohol dependence.

METHOD

A household survey was administered in 2002 to a probabilistic sample of 500 individuals, all residents of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, with ages ranging from 18 to 65. A vignette in colloquial language describing an individual with alcohol dependence (according to DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria) was presented together with a structured questionnaire with questions about the vignette.

RESULTS

The public considered the help of lay people, self-help groups and psychologists the most useful. Medical professionals were viewed less favourably. The treatments and activities most recommended were psychotherapy and general activities, such as physical activities, keeping the mind busy and attending church services. Medical treatments were seen as more harmful than helpful. The more important determinants were identification of alcohol dependence as mental illness, religion and number of years of school completed. Prognosis with treatment was viewed as favourable.

CONCLUSION

These results may indicate that the public needs to receive more information on the full range of treatments options, especially those related to professional or formal treatment.

An empowerment process: successful recovery from alcohol dependence

AIMS

The purpose of this study was to explore the concepts and processes for successful abstinence from alcohol for Taiwanese Alcoholics Anonymous members.

BACKGROUND

Attempting to identify the psychological and social influences upon alcohol consumption remission outside of alcoholism treatment could help professionals to engage in a broad array of community interventions in an informed fashion.

METHODS

Grounded theory method was utilized in this study. The study chose nine participants who had succeeded in abstinence, using theoretical sampling and conducted in-depth interviews by an open-ended questionnaire.

RESULTS

The results of this study indicated that the core of the process during which alcoholic individuals succeeded in abstaining from further alcohol consumption was an empowerment process for the involved individual. Alcoholics felt that their family, interpersonal relationships, jobs and personal finances all had been at 'rock-bottom' level following a long period of alcohol dependence. This feeling caused the individual to experience an emotion of a loss of control and provoked the arousal of an alcoholic's inner consciousness levels, this then resulting in the generation of a driving force for abstinence from alcohol for these individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

The expansion of an individual's internal awakening power helps the individual to obtain assistance and to resist the temptation of further alcohol consumption. Therefore, the power derived by individuals from the stages of repositioning, releasing, active sharing, resistance and assistance are the maintenance factors for an individual's empowerment process that help maintain the successful recovery from alcohol for the involved individual.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

A good comprehension of the recovery processes for alcoholics, we believe, will trigger clinical professionals to pay appropriate attention to the specific problems and needs of alcoholic individuals, to build an effective resource network for treatment and to help solve alcoholics' physical and psychosocial problems.