James F. Rooney

Fire and Brimstone, Lager and Pot: Religious Involvement and Substance Use*

Data from nearly 5,000 high school seniors from six states in the northeastern region of the United States are analyzed using religious preference and attendance to predict substance use (hard liquor, beer, marijuana, amphetamines, barbiturates, heroin, LSD, and cocaine). It was hypothesized that (1) denomination and attendance would be significantly related to the use of alcohol and that an interaction would occur beteen these two predictors, (2) church attendance should have special impact within proscriptive denominations, and (3) for harder drugs, church attendance would be inversely related with use. Analysis-of-variance and multiple classification analysis were employed. Weekly use and having ever employed the substance were utilized for alcohol and marijuana and having ever used the substance was used for hard drugs. The data support the hypotheses.

Psychological Symptoms of Residents in the Aftermath of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident and Restart

Abstract Psychological symptoms of 108 residents in the vicinity of Three Mile Island were assessed following the restart of the nuclear plant in 1985. Findings suggest that psychological symptoms in the community remain chronically elevated since the time of the 1979 accident but may not have been substantially impacted by restart. Twenty-five percent of the variance in global severity of symptoms was predicted by post-restart attitudes. A pattern of psychological reaction in the aftermath of technological disaster is discussed.

Children's Changing Attitudes Regarding Alcohol: A Cross-Sectional Study.

A drug and alcohol related questionnaire was distributed to the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students in an urban school district in Pennsylvania. Based on the responses to the questionnaire, it was concluded that the sixth-grade students were significantly more advanced than the fourth- or fifth-grade students, in terms of conformity to peer pressure and positive attitudes toward the use of drugs and alcohol. It was recommended that prior to the sixth-grade, use of drug and alcohol education curriculum may be useful. Beginning at the sixth-grade and continuing on through high school, sole reliance on drug and alcohol education curriculum as a means of dealing with drug and alcohol use was not expected to produce positive results.

Psychological adaptation among residents following restart of Three Mile Island

Psychological adaptation is examined in a sample of residents who remained in the vicinity of Three Mile Island following the restart of the nuclear generating facility which had been shut down since the 1979 accident. Findings indicate a lowering of psychological symptoms between 1985 and 1989 in spite of increased lack of control, less faith in experts and increased fear of developing cancer. The suggestion is made that reduced stress might have been related to a process of adaptation whereby a cognition of emergency preparedness was integrated by some of these residents as a modulating cognitive element. Findings also indicate that “loss of faith in experts” is a persistently salient cognition consistent with the “shattered assumptions” theory of victimization.

Interest in information as a function of worry and perceived control in the aftermath of nuclear disaster.

A survey of residents in the vicinity of the Three Mile Island nuclear generating facility four years after the accident examined level of interest in cancer detection and treatment, radiation monitoring, and epidemiology of cancer as a function of degree of ongoing worry, perceived control and demographic variables. Interest in information was found to be related to worry for all three topics, indicating that residents who had higher degrees of worry were more interested in seeking information than avoiding it. Control expectancy was related to interest in information about epidemiological distribution of cancer. Implications for the dissemination of information in the aftermath of a disaster are discussed.

Life Stage Differences in Resident Coping with Restart of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Facility

A study of residents who remained in the vicinity of Three Mile Island (TMI) immediately following the restart of the nuclear generating plant revealed that older residents employed a more emotion-focused coping style in the face of this event than did younger residents. Coping style was, however, unrelated to the level of psychological symptoms for these older residents, whereas demographic variables were related. Among younger residents, on the other hand, coping style was related to the level of psychological symptoms, whereas demographic variables were not. Among younger residents, emotion-focused coping was associated with more symptoms and problem-focused coping was associated with fewer symptoms, contradicting previous findings among TMI area residents.

Changes in femininity, masculinity, and self-regard among women alcoholics in residential treatment

Specially designed scales of Self-Regard, Masculinity, and Femininity were administered to 31 women alcoholics at several times during the course of a residential treatment program and to a comparison group of recovered alcoholics with long records of sobriety. The results show that (1) there is a sharp and immediate increase among alcoholic women in self-esteem during the first 30 days of rehabilitation; (2) this restoration of self-esteem is closely linked with a reaffirmation of femininity in older, but not in younger, women; (3) women with histories of homosexual involvement demonstrate a notably different pattern of self-reassessment.

Variables que contribuyen a fumar tabaco entre una muestra joven: un análisis multivariable

ResumenAl estudiar la incidencia del consumo de cigarrillos entre la poblacion estudiantil (10–18 anos) y su relacion con las variables mas significativas, nos encontramos con la compleja realidad que sufre modificaciones en estas edades. De ahi que las variables significativas sufran numerosos cambios, por ej. el numero de amigos que fuman segun los diferentes grupos de edad. A los 10–11 anos, el hecho de fumar mas, se relaciona con el numero de horas de estudio en casa y con la menor estimacion de peligro que supone para la salud. A los 12–13 anos sera la propia actitud del alumno hacia el fumar, y a partir de los 14–15 anos sera tanto la actitud del grupo de amigos como la sensacion de la identidad personal. Por otro lado, se resalta el importante factor de cambio que supone pasar de E.G.B. a EE.MM.