Arthur R. Zeiner

Psychological Factors of Familial Alcoholism in American Indians and Caucasians.

Previous studies have reported on the familial transmission of alcoholism and its psychological concomitants. To date, investigators have not studied the familial factor and its relationship to transmission/risk in a group of American Indians (doubly at risk for alcoholism). In two related studies, we have assessed psychological adjustment and drinking behavior of (1) a group of Indians with one or more first-degree alcoholic relatives and a group of Indians without a history of familial alcoholism; and (2) Indians with a history of familial alcoholism compared to Caucasians with a history of familial alcoholism. Results indicate no psychological functioning differences between familial and nonfamilial Indians. However, the familial Indian group reported a style of drinking that more closely resembled that of an alcoholic group. Looking at these data cross-culturally, there are differences between Indians and Caucasians on psychological adjustment, as well as drinking behavior. These differences are present in spite of a shared familial history of alcoholism.

Are Differences in the Disulfiram-Alcohol Reaction the Basis of Racial Differences in Biological Sensitivity to Ethanol?

Ingestion of alcohol is a prerequisite for becoming an alcoholic. However, neither do all people drink alcohol equally nor are they all equally at risk for becoming alcoholics. There are large individual differences in both alcohol use and abuse. Such data leave the researcher with perplexing questions. Why is it that some people choose not to drink (for other than financial or religious reasons), why are some others indifferent to alcohol and why do some people prefer to drink alcohol? What factors govern the self-selection of alcoholic beverages? In partial answer to some of these questions, it has been proposed that there exist differences in biological sensitivity to alcohol which may modulate the self-selection process (Kalow, 1962; Wolff, 1972). Implicit in the biological sensitivity hypothesis is the notion that some people experience predominantly pleasant effects from alcohol ingestion whereas others experience mainly unpleasant effects. Further, it is assumed that the experience of pleasant-unpleasant effects has a biological basis.

RESEARCH UPDATE OF BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS FOR ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION: THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE FACTORS

Although mortality from heart disease in the United States has been declining in the past decade, it still accounts for more deaths than all other diseases combined (U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1979). Elevated blood pressure is the single biggest contributory cause in the form of strokes, heart attacks, and renal failure (National Institutes of Health, 1979). It is estimated that 60 million people suffer from elevated blood pressure (140/90 mmHg or greater). Of these 60 million people, 35 million have definite hypertension (160/95 mmHg or greater) and another 25 million have borderline hypertension (140/90 to 159/94 mmHg). Epidemiological findings from the Fra-mingham study (Kannel, 1977) confirmed that hypertension is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). In over 90% of the cases of hypertension, classified as “primary” or “essential” hypertension, the etiology is unknown. In such cases, symptoms (elevated blood pressure) are treated with diuretics, alpha and beta blockers, vasodilators, and/or combinations of the above in a stepped-care approach. Behavioral interventions as either alternatives or adjuncts to medical treatment are increasingly being utilized in efforts to prevent sustained high blood pressures which increase morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and renal complications.