Lenore A. Kola

Co-factors affecting substance abuse among homosexual men: an investigation within a midwestern gay community

In an effort to begin formation of an empirically based model of gay substance abuse, this study examined the effects of three psychosocial factors, homosexual identity formation, self-esteem and a familial history of substance abuse in the evolution of this phenomenon among homosexual men, a group that appears to manifest appreciably higher rates and concomitantly greater associated problems than the general population. Data were obtained by voluntary subject return of a self-report instrument that was distributed widely over a 6 month period in the metropolitan Cleveland area, resulting in a moderately sized sample. Although the sampling method limited the generalizability of the results, diminished self-esteem and a familial history of substance abuse had significant associations with both alcohol and drug abuse and were confirmed to be salient predictors, together accounting for almost half the variance in alcohol abuse and over one-third the variance in drug abuse. Moreover, both had the ability to significantly discern between alcohol and drug use groups versus groups found to be alcohol and drug abusive. Levels of a gay identity were not meaningfully associated with substance abuse. Finally, recommendations for further research were explicated.

The Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence: Implementation support for evidence-based practice.

This invited article describes the establishment and function of the Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence. This center serves as a resource for programs providing care for individuals with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse problems, through the provision of training and technical assistance and of research related to evidence-based treatment models. The center is a partnership between the School of Applied Social Sciences and the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University and is funded by the Ohio Departments of Mental Health and Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services.

Eldercare in the Workplace

Experts have predicted that eldercare will be an important fringe benefit issue in the 1990s. The authors discuss research dealing with the perceptions of employers and employee caregivers of the elderly. Implications for the development of policies and practices are also discussed.

The Ohio Supported Employment Coordinating Center of Excellence

The Ohio Supported Employment Coordinating Center of Excellence is a joint project of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the Department of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University. The center is focused on helping to implement and evaluate evidence-based employment services provided to individuals with a severe mental illness. The staffing and funding of the center is described, as are the current research projects, future directions, and the implementation lessons learned. This article is the latest in a series of reports of social work research centers published in Research on Social Work Practice.

Using the Conflict-Theory Model of Decision Making to Predict Outcome in the Alcoholism Intervention

This article examines the application of the decisionmaking component of conflict-theory model to the process of intervention in alcoholism. The alcoholic must choose from among a set of alternatives, each of which has both positive and negative outcomes. The usefulness of the conflict-theory model of decision making is shown in its ability to identify the key elements of intervention, to describe the decision-making process, and to predict the outcome of the intervention.

A University-Agency Mental Health Research Collaboration: A Case Example

There is significant documentation in the literature of barriers that may prevent research results from being utilized by agencies to inform and impact practice and policy. Such barriers pertain to several factors as follows: (a) those related to the nature of the research enterprise itself, (b) those related to differences between the producers and consumers of research, and (c) barriers arising from the differences in organizational contexts of researchers and case management and supported employment agency staff. This article discusses a collaborative relationship between university researchers and agency practitioners in the context of a research project studying the implementation of supported employment, an evidence-based practice. As a case example, it provides an exemplar of the problems and issues of conducting mental health research with community-based agencies and offers strategies and case examples that address these issues.

Adapting the Integrated Dual-Disorder Treatment Model for Addiction Services

A paradigm shift from viewing substance use disorders as isolated from mental illness to embracing an integrated treatment model is essential to developing best practices in the addiction field. The integrated dual-disorder treatment (IDDT) model developed for individuals with major mental and substance use disorders may provide a conceptual model for such integration. This article provides program planners and practitioners with some of the issues and challenges of adopting and adapting this evidence-based practice for co-occurring disorders.

Stress and Outcome in the Alcoholism Intervention

The Alcoholism Intervention is a specific therapeutic technique used to motivate an alcoholic to enter treatment; participants confront the alcoholic with the damage the drinking has done and with the consequences that will occur if treatment is rejected. According to the conflict-theory model of decision making, an alcoholics decision to accept treatment is related to the level of stress in the Intervention. Results provided some support for this relationship and a speculative model of practice is presented.

The Center for Evidence Based Practices at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University

ABSTRACT The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP), a multidisciplinary center located at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (MSASS), has been in operation for the past 17 years. It is a joint project of MSASS and the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, and funded primarily through the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, as well as a variety of contractual agreements with agencies throughout the state and the country. The CEBP provides technical assistance for service innovations that improve quality of life and other outcomes for people with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders. Clinical and programmatic consultation, as well as training, are provided to both public and private agencies to help them build capacity to implement and sustain research-supported interventions practices. CEBP staff also provide instruction to students in the classroom and field experiences.