Cognitive Processes: Their Influence on Varying Pathways to Recovery

ABSTRACT

Cognitive processes have been known to have a significant impact on recovery from alcohol and other drugs. From a study of self-changers (natural recoverers) without treatment or self-help groups, analysis of the data has identified beliefs that influenced the change experience–from the evaluation of reasons for drinking and the consequences that instigated the motivation and determination to take action, to the individually-conceived strategies to implement and maintain abstinence, and the perceived consequences of abstaining. Belief systems and strategies of recovery are compared across three pathways to recovery–self-change, cognitively-oriented treatment, and Alcoholics Anonymous.     

Alternative diff-in-diffs estimators with several pretreatment periods

This paper deals with the identification of treatment effects using difference-in-differences estimators when several pretreatment periods are available. We define a family of identifying nonnested assumptions that lead to alternative difference-in-differences estimators. We show that the most usual difference-in-differences estimators imply equivalence conditions for the identifying nonnested assumptions. We further propose a model that can be used to test multiple equivalence conditions without imposing any of them. We conduct a Monte Carlo analysis and apply our approach to several recent papers to show its practical relevance.     

Treatment Experiences of Child Sexual Offenders in Norway: A Qualitative Study

This article is an attempt at gaining a better understanding of treatment of adults who have committed sexual offenses against children. In this study we aimed to explore what people who have committed sexual offenses against children find useful in therapy. The study was approached using qualitative methodology, and information was collected through semistructured interviews. Four male child sexual offenders were recruited from the Institute of Clinical Sexology and Therapy in Oslo, Norway. The informants were interviewed with a focus on what factors they found useful in therapy. Through an explorative, thematic analysis, five main themes were found. These themes include: “Why I started going to therapy,” “Why did I do it?” “Therapy as life,” “Previous and current relationships with others,” and “I lived in a fantasy world where everything was okay.” Based on this study and other earlier studies and theories it appears that the previously mentioned themes recur as important contributory factors in the treatment of child sexual offenders.     

Using Inverse Probability Weighting Estimators to Evaluate Various Propensity Scores When Treatment Switching Exists

In this paper, we conduct a Monte Carlo simulation study to evaluate three propensity score (PS) scenarios for estimating an average treatment effect (ATE) in observational studies when treatment switching exists: (a) ignoring treatment switching in subjects (UPS), (b) removing subjects with treatment switching (RPS), and (c) adjusting for treatment switching effect (APS) with two inverse probability weighting estimators, IPW1 and IPW2. We evaluate these six estimators in terms of bias, mean squared error (MSE), empirical standard error (ESE), and coverage probability (CP) under various simulation scenarios. Simulation results show that the IPW2 estimator with RPS has relatively good performance.     

A comparison of subgroup identification methods in clinical drug development: Simulation study and regulatory considerations

With advancement of technologies such as genomic sequencing, predictive biomarkers have become a useful tool for the development of personalized medicine. Predictive biomarkers can be used to select subsets of patients, which are most likely to benefit from a treatment. A number of approaches for subgroup identification were proposed over the last years. Although overviews of subgroup identification methods are available, systematic comparisons of their performance in simulation studies are rare. Interaction trees (IT), model‐based recursive partitioning, subgroup identification based on differential effect, simultaneous threshold interaction modeling algorithm (STIMA), and adaptive refinement by directed peeling were proposed for subgroup identification. We compared these methods in a simulation study using a structured approach. In order to identify a target population for subsequent trials, a selection of the identified subgroups is needed. Therefore, we propose a subgroup criterion leading to a target subgroup consisting of the identified subgroups with an estimated treatment difference no less than a pre‐specified threshold. In our simulation study, we evaluated these methods by considering measures for binary classification, like sensitivity and specificity. In settings with large effects or huge sample sizes, most methods perform well. For more realistic settings in drug development involving data from a single trial only, however, none of the methods seems suitable for selecting a target population. Using the subgroup criterion as alternative to the proposed pruning procedures, STIMA and IT can improve their performance in some settings. The methods and the subgroup criterion are illustrated by an application in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.     

Social epidemiologic comparisons in a European cohort of substance-dependent therapeutic community clients: a case-oriented analysis

A case-oriented analytical approach compared the index national case of France with the typical European outcome, other European cases and American results on social epidemiological indicators. Modal distributions were found to be most similar between the French sample and the total European sample on most social network items in a European therapeutic community cohort ( n =723). The characteristics of the American and our sample were also found to be strikingly similar. Network size varies mainly with the number of substance-dependent contacts reported by the client. Southern European clients have been living with their parents while northern clients have been living alone. Spending most of the time with drug-using friends is not related to developing intimate relationships and a counterbalance to a situation of peer loneliness. The importance of looking at the function of social network relations in risk networks in harmonising European policy is emphasised.     

北京城市用水的民俗学研究

研究北京城市用水民俗有明显的社会现实意义.北京城市水源的社会史集中体现了我国历来国家水治与民间水治的关系;全球化以来不断高涨的环保用水的国际思潮,又对北京的国际大都市建设产生了积极的影响,同时对回归北京国家水治和民间水治协调运转的历史传统有促进作用.从民俗学角度研究北京城市用水的特殊性还在于,有助于反思和开发利用北京城市水治的非物质文化遗产,推动北京用水与首都自然环境、首都城市发展史和首都未来社会形态的统一规划与整体建设,在我国现代城市化的进程中,保持首都城市可持续的文化存在的特殊价值.     

The social work services in screening process of compulsory treatment interventions in addicts in Iran: A content analysis study

Compulsory treatment has had a detrimental impact on drug abuse treatment policies and programs in Iran. Physicians are currently required to conduct initial treatment screening. Social workers are a part of the treatment team but have no authority to initiate a compulsory drug treatment plan. For this reason, the present article investigates social work service participation in the process of compulsory drug treatment. The study methodology is content analysis. Nine social workers participated in seven focus group discussions. Overall, 110 codes were extracted from the sessions and were categorized into five main themes: interview and initial assessment; referral; investigation of ineligibility criteria; report to judicial authority; and follow‐up and advocacy. The results of this research suggest amending executive bylaws based on a social work approach to the screening process for compulsory drug treatment.     

区域环境治理中的三大矛盾及其破解

区域环境治理中存在着错综复杂的矛盾体系,但主要存在着"三大矛盾"即行政区经济发展与区域环境保护、行政区环境治理机制与区域环境治理机制、区域环境竞争关系与区域环境合作关系之间的矛盾。着力分析与有效破解这"三大矛盾"应当是推进与改善区域环境治理的基本工作和主要任务。     

The Role of Technology in Mediating Use of Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Services

ABSTRACT

This study examined the relationship between Connect, a telephone-based information and support system, and the use of outpatient substance abuse treatment services. Regression models were formulated to examine the relationship between use of substance abuse treatment services and Connect. The results indicate that Connect use was not significantly related to the likelihood of using treatment (N = 240). However, an inverse relationship was found between Connect and use of treatment services (n = 123). The findings raise the conceptual issue of whether one introduces technology as an “add-on” to or as a “substitute for” traditional substance abuse treatment services.