Sandra Turner

Enhancing resiliency in girls and boys: A case for gender specific adolescent prevention programming.

Resiliency is the ability to bounce back or cope well in the face of adversity, and preventionists are recognizing the promise of this approach, with its emphasis on strengths and the enhancement of individual and environmental protective factors. Feminist scholars and resiliency researchers have highlighted significant gender differences in susceptibility to, and protection from, situations of risk. However, there are few prevention programs that have incorporated gender-specific resiliency strategies. This paper will argue for the importance in the field of substance abuse prevention of developing different strategies for girls and boys to meet their varying needs.

Suicide Attempts by Adolescent Latinas: An Exploratory Study of Individual and Family Correlates

Epidemiological data show high rates of suicide attempts among adolescent Latinas. Few studies have addressed the psychosocial, cultural and family correlates of suicide attempts among this age group of a rapidly growing population. The authors studied 31 adolescent Hispanic females who were receiving mental health services; 14 girls had attempted suicide in the previous five years and 17 had never attempted suicide. The two groups of girls did not differ significantly with respect to demographic profiles, levels of depression, family type, acculturation, or self-esteem. However, as hypothesized, the mutuality between girls and their mothers was lower among suicide attempters. Maladaptive coping skills of withdrawal and wishful thinking were more commonly used by attempters, and non-attempters used emotional regulation and problem-solving more frequently. Findings are discussed within the context of the empirical and theoretical literature and implications for practice are considered.

Resilience and Social Work Practice: Three Case Studies

Resilience is the capacity to bounce back in the face of adversity and to go on to live functional lives with a sense of well-being. People can become resilient even though they may have lived in stressful and neglectful family and community environments. The author describes three case vignettes that illustrate how therapists and clients working together in a resilience framework can discover and bolster strengths that can lead to more enhanced and satisfying lives.

Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention Programs: Theories, Models, and Research in the Encouraging 80's

The “vaccine” to prevent adolescents from using cigarettes, alcohol, and other drugs has not yet been found. Much has been learned about which prevention effortsdo not work. However, in the past decade there are some encouraging findings about whatdoes seem to work. This paper reviews the theories of human behavior and personality development upon which substance abuse prevention strategies have been based, the program models derived from them, and the research literature of the 1980s reporting on the effectiveness of the major program models for preventing adolescent substance abuse. The authors also present unanswered questions about the most effective kinds of prevention programs for different populations.

Alcoholic Women's Self-Esteem

American women in general and women alcoholics in particular suffer from low self-esteem, which is characterized by a discrepancy between ones ideal self-concept and actual self-concept. For many, this discrepancy begins in adolescence. For alcoholic women, it is difficult to ascertain whether their gender or their alcoholism is more damaging to self-esteem. However, some alcoholic women have low self-esteem that is so entrenched that even achieving abstinence or making improvement in drinking behavior does not help raise it. This paper examines the relationship between the fall of self-esteem in adolescent females and persistent low selfesteem in some alcoholic women.

Treating Women Right

It has been estimated that 20—30% of all women will be sexually and/or physically abused at some time in their lives, and women who come for treatment of substance abuse report an even higher incidence of sexual and/or physical abuse. Using case vignettes, this article presents an integrated model of group treatment for substance-abusing women who have also experienced some form of interpersonal trauma.

The Dual Diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Alcoholism

This article will explore the connection between alcoholism and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Case examples will demonstrate the co-morbidity of both disorders and the need for a collaborative approach to treatment planning.

Alcoholism and Depression in Women

This report describes a study of 116 women alcoholics and examines the relationships between their alcoholism and their depression. Although over a one-year period, the depression of the majority diminished when they reduced or stopped their drinking, a substantial minority remained depressed. Implications of these findings for treatment are discussed.

Book Reviews : Women of the Asylum: Voices from Behind the Walls, 1840-1945. Edited by Jeffrey L. Geller and Maxine Harris. New York: Anchor Books, 1994, 350 pp.,

contribution to the literature in that any number of theoretical bases may fit. The authors’ feminist stance recognizes that the male batterer is entirely responsible for the abuse he inflicts and that most women’s fears of leaving their abusive partners (including worse abuse, losing custody of children, and loss of financial support) are well founded. Of less value is their judgment that battered women are often addicted