Life Balance and Work Addiction Among African Americans

A dearth of counseling literature examines the experiences of people of color, including African American women and men, in relation to work–life balance. The authors, therefore, investigated the association between life‐balance domains and work addiction for African Americans. A multiple regression analysis of 115 African American participants (47 men, 68 women) indicated a significant relationship between life‐balance domains and work addiction. In particular, community support was an important indicator of decreased work addiction. Career counselors and mental health counselors need to develop an understanding of how extended familial and social networks assist African American clients in effectively managing work–life balance.     

Mental preparation during pregnancy in women with substance addiction: a qualitative interview‐study

The interplay between pregnancy and addiction is usually studied quantitatively, and the focus is often on the adverse effects of intrauterine substance exposure. This study explores the perspective of the mothers‐to‐be by examining the subjective experience of pregnancy in substance‐addicted women. Fourteen women in family treatment for substance use disorder participated in eight focus groups. The data were analysed according to interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings show that recognition of pregnancy was distorted and delayed, and strong feelings of ambivalence and guilt persisted throughout pregnancy, along with hope for change. Addiction and an intense preoccupation with external expectations are seen as a threat to intrauterine attachment and mental preparation for the caregiving role. Interventions must take into account the specific ways in which addiction influences the psychological processes of pregnancy; specifically, providing adequate social support and security should be considered.     

当前大学生网络成瘾的心理因素分析及对策

互联网的普及与发展,对青年的生活产生了较大冲击,不少大学生因整日沉迷于网络而出现了网络成瘾症状。对大学生网络成瘾的心理因素进行分析和探讨,并实行相应预防与干预,指导大学生合理、健康地使用网络,为更好地实现高等教育的教学目标,培养符合社会需求的高技能、复合型人才,具有重要而深远的意义。     

论网瘾大学生上网动机的有效迁移

依据动机迁移理论,网瘾现象的内部心理因素在于大学生没能很好地实现上网与学习两种动机之间的正向迁移.本文通过开创网瘾大学生对网瘾知识学习新课堂的全新课堂形式来构建出二者的相同要素,从而建立联系,最终完成迁移活动.     

Risky business: emotion,decision-making,and addiction

Although metabolic abnormalities in the orbitofrontal cortex have been observed in substance dependent individuals (SDI) for several years, very little attention was paid to the role of this brain region in addiction. However, patients with damage to the ventromedial (VM) sector of the prefrontal cortex and SDI show similar behaviors. (1) They often deny, or they are not aware, that they have a problem. (2) When faced with a choice to pursue a course of action that brings an immediate reward at the risk of incurring future negative consequences, they choose the immediate reward and ignore the future consequences. Studies of patients with bilateral lesions of the VM prefrontal cortex support the view that the process of decision-making depends in many important ways on neural substrates that regulate homeostasis, emotion, and feeling. Parallel lines of study have revealed that VM cortex dysfunction is also evident in subgroups of individuals who are addicted to substances. Thus, understanding the neural mechanisms of decision-making has direct implications for understanding disorders of addiction and pathological gambling, and the switch from a controlled to uncontrolled and compulsive behavior. On the clinical front, the approach to treat addictive disorders has been dominated by a diagnostic system that focuses on behaviors, physical symptoms, or choice of drugs. The article emphasizes the concept of using neurocognitive criteria for subtyping addictive disorders. This is a significant paradigm shift with significant implications for guiding diagnosis and treatment. Using neurocognitive criteria could lead to more accurate subtyping of addictive disorders, and perhaps serve as a guide for more specific, and potentially more successful, behavioral and pharmacological interventions.     

A Systematic Review of Psychosocial Interventions in Treatment of Opioid Addiction

Opioid addiction has become a U.S. epidemic. It is important to determine whether psychosocial interventions help prevent relapse. A total of 14 studies were included in this systematic review. Most studies compared psychosocial interventions in conjunction with pharmacological maintenance. Only 2 studies found that psychosocial interventions led to statistically significant benefits for outcomes related to opioid abuse when compared to maintenance and less or no psychosocial intervention. Psychosocial interventions were not found to be additive to pharmacological treatments during induction or maintenance stages. Further research is needed to determine effectiveness of psychosocial interventions during dose reduction and long-term relapse prevention.     

Preparing social workers for practice with LGBT populations affected by substance use: perceptions from students,alumni, and service providers

Trends in the field of service among those with alcohol and other drug addictions highlight the urgent need for schools of social work to effectively train students to serve clients with substance use disorders, and have cultural humility to effectively serve disproportionately affected LGBT consumers. Online surveys and interviews examined perceptions of graduate social work students and alumni in a certified alcohol and drug counselor program, along with several service providers within an urban setting in the US. Results indicated that students and alumni did not feel adequately prepared through coursework to practice with LGBT populations affected by substance use, while feeling more clinically competent to practice with LGB individuals, than with transgender consumers. Similar findings related to unique differences associated with perceptions of faculty support, along with field preparedness to practice with LGB individuals when compared to transgender individuals. Service providers noted an overall commitment and to serve LGBT consumers as well as positive perceptions of students and alumni to do the same. Implications examine the role of faculty in addressing challenges related to preparation of social work students to practice with LGBT consumers affected by substance use disorders, along with suggestions for curricular changes, and ongoing field trainings.     

A Common Struggle in Seeking Social Justice

This essay is an unconventional book review(s) that aims to integrate the messages of two books, one a personal memoir by leading U.S. mental health consumer-advocate Patrick J. Kennedy, youngest son of the late Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy, and the other, an edited volume by two group work educators that is informed by liberation health social work.     

关于网络文化对大学生负面影响的调查报告

开展大学生网络文化负面影响的研究,对于加强高校网络文化建设、规范大学生网络行为具有现实意义。经调查,影响学业、有碍交往、摧残身心、道德失范、危害成长是网络文化对大学生负面影响的重要表现,鉴于此．优化网络环境、加强网络管理、提高网络素养、规范网络立法、丰富校园文化生活是消除网络文化负面影响的有效途径。     

网络游戏对大学生的影响及其思考

从工作实践入手,直面网络文化,对大学生参与网络游戏及由此产生网络成瘾症和学校应采取的引导、整合措施进行了分析探讨。