Content Analysis of Verbal Behavior

Content Analysis of Verbal Behavior
Author: Louis A. Gottschalk
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2014-02-24
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317843924

Focusing on language and the assessment of its meaning, this volume concentrates on a method of content analysis developed by the author and Goldine Gleser. Applicable to transcripts of speech or verbal texts, this method uses the grammatical clause as its smallest unit of communication, considers whether or not a verb is transitive and involves an object, or is intransitive and describes a state of being. It derives scores on many scales that have been tested for reliability of scoring and for construct validity with concurrently administered measures, such as rating and self-report scales as well as biochemical and pharmacological criteria. Finally, this volume provides detailed descriptions of the clinical and basic research establishing the validity of these scales, so that a reader can locate studies that have pertinence to any special interest area. A major achievement described in this book is the development of computer software that understands grammar and syntax, can parse natural language, knows most of the words in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, has been taught to identify idioms and slang, and is capable of continuing to learn. The program can score all the scales, report whether the scores obtained from a verbal sample are one to three standard deviations from the norms, and suggest APA DSM-IIIR diagnostic classifications the clinician might consider in assessing the patient.

Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders

Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2016-09-03
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309439124

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

Drug Abuse Treatment

Drug Abuse Treatment
Author: Roland R. Watson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1461203597

A major national goal is to improve the health of the populace while advancing our opportunities to pursue happiness. Simulta neously, there are both increasing health costs and increasing demands that more be accomplished with less financial support. With the number of deaths attributable to drug abuse, especially of tobacco, in the US at about 250,000 per year, the annual cost of drug addiction is over $150 billion. Improved treatment methods can both reduce these costs and improve health by preventing the continued exposure of abusers to the toxic effects of alcohol and other drugs. This fourth volume of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Reviews focuses on the strategies currently thought best for the treatment of drugs of abuse. A variety of approaches to drug abuse treatment employ those psychosocial factors that are known to influence drug use in youth and adults. Although the main emphasis is on the treatment of illicit drug use, a major cofactor in damaging the health of drug users is nicotine (tobacco) addiction, whose treatment is also reviewed. And the roles of learning and outpatient services are shown to affect treatment significantly. Thus, the problems confronted and solutions used in drug abuse treatment have here been analyzed in concise reviews that deal with the evidence for today' s best hypotheses and conclusions. Some emphasis is also placed on reviewing new compounds used to prevent cocaine and opioid dependence.

Addictions and Problem Drug Use

Addictions and Problem Drug Use
Author: Michael Bloor
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Total Pages: 228
Release: 1998
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9781853024382

This volume reviews recent research into the nature and effects of addiction and considers the usefulness of policies which aim to prevent it. The contributors focus on topics such as smoking, alcoholism, gambling and injecting drug use, examining treatment and the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programmes. Such programmes include services for steroid users, needle exchange provision, and social workers' intervention in alcoholism. The reasons why people turn to substance abuse are explored as well as the real effects on health along with other subjects of importance to social workers such as the estimation of drug misuse prevalence. There is also discussion of government policy on drugs in Britain and Holland.

Dignity

Dignity
Author: Chris Arnade
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2019-06-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0525534733

NATIONAL BESTSELLER "A profound book.... It will break your heart but also leave you with hope." —J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy "[A] deeply empathetic book." —The Economist With stark photo essays and unforgettable true stories, Chris Arnade cuts through "expert" pontification on inequality, addiction, and poverty to allow those who have been left behind to define themselves on their own terms. After abandoning his Wall Street career, Chris Arnade decided to document poverty and addiction in the Bronx. He began interviewing, photographing, and becoming close friends with homeless addicts, and spent hours in drug dens and McDonald's. Then he started driving across America to see how the rest of the country compared. He found the same types of stories everywhere, across lines of race, ethnicity, religion, and geography. The people he got to know, from Alabama and California to Maine and Nevada, gave Arnade a new respect for the dignity and resilience of what he calls America's Back Row--those who lack the credentials and advantages of the so-called meritocratic upper class. The strivers in the Front Row, with their advanced degrees and upward mobility, see the Back Row's values as worthless. They scorn anyone who stays in a dying town or city as foolish, and mock anyone who clings to religion or tradition as naïve. As Takeesha, a woman in the Bronx, told Arnade, she wants to be seen she sees herself: "a prostitute, a mother of six, and a child of God." This book is his attempt to help the rest of us truly see, hear, and respect millions of people who've been left behind.

Adult Children of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Breaking the Ties That Bind

Adult Children of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Breaking the Ties That Bind
Author: Amy J. L. Baker
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2010-03-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0393075982

An examination of adults who have been manipulated by divorcing parents. Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) occurs when divorcing parents use children as pawns, trying to turn the child against the other parent. This book examines the impact of PAS on adults and offers strategies and hope for dealing with the long-term effects.

Drugs and Drug Policy

Drugs and Drug Policy
Author: Clayton J. Mosher
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2007
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0761930078

Drugs and Drug Policy: The Control of Consciousness Alteration provides a cross-national perspective on the regulation of drug use by examining and critiquing drug policies in the United States and abroad in terms of their scope, goals, and effectiveness. In this engaging text, authors Clayton J. Mosher and Scott Akins discuss the physiological, psychological, and behavioral effects of legal and illicit drugs; the patterns and correlates of use; and theories of the "causes" of drug use. Key Features: * Offers more coverage of drug policy issues than competitive books: This book addresses the number of significant developments over the last few decades that suggest the dynamics of drug use and policies to deal with drug use are at a critical juncture. The book also considers the issue of "American exceptionalism" with respect to drug policies through a detailed analysis of emerging drug polices in other Western nations. * Makes explicit comparisons between legal and illegal drugs: Due to their prevalence of use, this book devotes considerable attention to the use and regulation of legal drugs in society. The book illustrates that commonly prescribed medications are similar to drugs that are among the most feared and harshly punished in society and that drug-related problems do not necessarily result from particular drugs, but from how drugs are used. * Includes many pedagogical tools: With chapter opening photos and more photos throughout, this text presents material in a student- friendly fashion. Highlight boxes provide interesting examples for readers; encourage further emphasis on issues; and serve as important topics for in class writing exercises. In addition, Internet exercises and review questions reinforce key points made in the chapter and prompt classroom discussion.