Gary L. Fisher

The Impact of Acceptance and Commitment Training and Multicultural Training on the Stigmatizing Attitudes and Professional Burnout of Substance Abuse Counselors.

Empirically validated methods for reducing stigma and prejudice toward recipients of behavioral health-care services are badly needed. In the present study, two packages presented in 1-day workshops were compared to a biologically oriented educational control condition in the alleviation of stigmatizing attitudes in drug abuse counselors. One, Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), utilized acceptance, defusion, mindfulness, and values methods. The other, multicultural training, sensitized participants to group prejudices and biases. Measures of stigma and burnout were taken pretraining, posttraining, and after a 3-month follow-up. Results showed that multicultural training had an impact on stigmatizing attitudes and burnout post-intervention but not at follow-up, but showed better gains in a sense of personal accomplishment as compared to the educational control at follow-up. ACT had a positive impact on stigma at follow-up and on burnout at posttreatment and follow-up and follow-up gains in burnout exceeded those of multicultural training. ACT also significantly changed the believability of stigmatizing attitudes. This process mediated the impact of ACT but not multicultural training on follow-up stigma and burnout. This preliminary study opens new avenues for reducing stigma and burnout in behavioral health counselors.

Chemical Dependency in Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

To determine if students with learning disabilities (LD) demonstrate a higher frequency of chemical dependency than students without learning disabilities (NLD), a total of 191 adolescents with LD (101 males and 90 females) were given the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI). The sample consisted of 88 students with LD and 103 NLD students between the ages of 12 and 18. The SASSI is an objectively scored self-report inventory that accurately classifies adolescents as chemically dependent (CD) or not chemically dependent (NCD). A significantly higher proportion of students with LD than NLD students were classified as CD. Of the 30 students who were classified as CD, 70% were students with LD. A discriminant analysis indicated that the presence or absence of a learning disability was a better predictor of classification as CD or NCD than gender, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, or family composition. The implications for evaluation and educational planning for students with learning disabilities are discussed.

Psychological Effects, Personality and Behavioral Changes Attributed to Marihuana Use

Data from 530 marihuana users on the psychological effects, personality and behavioral changes attributed to their marihuana use are presented. Age, sex, marital status, and educational level are reported. Data were analyzed according to five use patterns: (1) trial users, (2) past users, (3) occasional users, (4) regular users, and (5) daily users. Ss reported on the occurrence of 33 psychological effects of marihuana, changes in 14 behavioral and personality variables, effect on alcohol and tobacco consumption, effect on sexual orientation, and reasons for marihuana use. Results are consistent in that as marihuana use increases, there is an increase in pleasurable effects and beneficial results in personality and behavioral realms and a decrease in negative and untoward sequelae. Trial users report the least pleasant effects and the greatest untoward effects, and past users report considerably less benefits than current users.

Characteristics of adult children of alcoholics.

Ninety-seven adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs), 36 adults with dysfunctional family histories, and 41 adults without identified dysfunctional family histories were compared on self-reports of 20 adult characteristics. Significant differences among the groups were found on 4 of the characteristics, with the ACOA group showing the highest frequency of occurrence on 17 of them. No differences due to gender of the alcoholic parent were found, and there was no group by gender interaction. The results suggested that the clinical characteristics attributed to ACOAs may have some empirical validity but the ACOAs seem fairly similar to adults with other types of dysfunctional family histories.

Personality Characteristics of Adult Children of Alcoholics, Other Adults from Dysfunctional Families, and Adults from Nondysfunctional Families

This study used the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) to examine the personality characteristics of adult children of alcoholics. The sample was noncollege age adults (N = 174). Subjects responding to advertisements were grouped into Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) (56%), Adults with Dysfunctional Family Histories (ADFH) (21%), or Adults without Identified Dysfunctional Family Histories (AIDFH) (23%). Results indicated that the ACOA group was different from the AIDFH group on nine of the 28 CPI scales, but there were no significant differences between the ACOA and ADFH groups. The validity of clinical impressions of ACOAs and the utility of considering ACOAs as a distinct field of study are discussed.

FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE ATTITUDE SURVEY WITH COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATES

Few standardized instruments measure attitudes and beliefs towards substance abuse. The Substance Abuse Attitude Survey, developed for measuring drug attitudes in medical education, was administered to 598 college undergraduates, and a factor analysis was performed. Three coherent and stable factors were identified, e.g., Stereotypes and Moralism, Treatment, and Permissiveness. Internal consistency and 6-wk. test-retest measures indicated moderate to high reliability factor structure. Results are discussed in terms of sample differences between this effort and a previous validation.

Assessment of alcohol and other drug abuse with referred adolescents

Adolescents with alcohol or other drug problems may be referred to school psychologists for assessment and demonstrate symptoms similar to handicapping conditions such as learning disabilities or emotional disturbance. Therefore, school psychologists have a need for assessment techniques to determine the probablity that referred adolescents have alcohol or other drug problems. In this paper, prereferral questionnaires, initial interviews, behavioral observations, and assessment devices are discussed. Suggestions are made for referring substance-abusing adolescents.

Cluster Analysis of Adult Children of Alcoholics

To determine if adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) are heterogeneous with respect to personality characteristics, 97 ACOAs took the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), and the results were analyzed through cluster analysis techniques. The resulting three-cluster solution showed that, in one subgroup (44%), all CPI scales were at or above the mean; another subgroup (40%) achieved scores at or slightly below the mean; and the third subgroups (16%) scores were considerably below the mean. Therefore, clinical claims regarding ACOAs may only be accurate for a small proportion of ACOAs. Research on resiliency in children may explain why many ACOAs have normal personality profiles.

Self-Protection for Persons with Disabilities: Development and Validation of a Skills Curriculum.

This project was funded through Title IV-C, Grant Award #35875. The importance of daily living and personal-social skills for successful employment and community living has been well recognized in the professional literature (Brolin, 1982; Clark, 1974; Miller & Schloss, 1982; Wimmer, 1981). An essential personal-social skill to be taught within a career education curriculum is dealing with sexuality, and more specifically, developing skills in self-protection from sexual exploitation. Traditionally, career education has emphasized the acquisition of appropriate behaviors that will increase the individual’s ability to function on the job, at home, and in the community. Students learn to follow

Pre-service teachers use of and attitudes toward alcohol and other drugs.

Drug attitude and use assessment of 598 undergraduate students revealed attitudinal differences between anticipated occupation groups and drug use patterns that paralleled prior studies which used college student samples. Results are discussed as they pertain to the education of those planning to enter the teaching profession.