Treatments, Perceived Stigma, and Employment Outcomes among Substance Abusers in China

Employment is a vital component of a substance abuser’s recovery, but little is known about how stigma affects employment for substance abusers receiving treatment. The current study investigates the effects of stigma and treatment on employment in the Chinese context. Using a sample of substance abusers (N = 3, 978), multiple logistics regressions with moderation effects were employed. The findings show that treatments positively reduce confirmative experiences of anticipated stigma, and promote employment only when respondents do not perceive stigma. The findings highlight the impact of perceived stigma on limiting substance abusers’ chances of being employed, implying that eliminating stigma is the foundation for recovery. Possible strategies that can be explored for reducing stigma are discussed.

Imaginary Penalty and Identity Conflict: The Dilemma and Strategies of Multiple identities in Substance Abusers in Chinese Drug Policy

Background: Exploring why the national drug policy failed is an important issue. Although the theory of "Imaginary Penalty" points out the relationship between ideology and policy-making, it ignores the systemic nature of drug control and the voice of drug addicts. Methods: This study takes substance abusers who live in urban communities as the research participants. Using qualitative research data, this study explores how individual drug abuse experiences are identified and classified by structural forces and how individuals manage their daily life. Results: The study finds that law enforcement agencies (Narcotics Control Office (NCO), Police Station , and Community Assistance Group (CAG)) have different attitudes toward Substance abusers and generate different managements, forming multiple governance models, and then shaping the multiple and incomplete Substance abusers’ identity dilemma. Drug addicts perceive the dilemma, and they adopt the strategies of spatial isolation (hidden flow), disconnection from experience (temporal isolation), and instrumental cooperation to continuously re-adjust and achieve identity recovery from the bottom up with the "possible citizens" narrative logic. Conclusion/importance: Through evaluating the effectiveness of self-management strategies, this research integrates the Chinese drug rehabilitation situation, expands the specific performance of "Imaginary Penalty" in the law enforcement system, and presents the limitations and positive value of self-management strategies.

Impact of yoga and physical exercise on psychological wellbeing among substance abusers: a randomized controlled trial

Objectives Substance use disorder is a pattern of recurrent use of illicit substances that leads to severe psychosocial imbalance and recurrent relapse. The study was to evaluate the efficacy of a yoga-based intervention as an add-on in enhancing psychological wellbeing, compared with physical exercise among substance abusers. Methods In this randomized controlled study, 96 male participants with substance use disorder from a residential rehabilitation treatment center, Kathmandu, Nepal, were randomly allocated into two groups namely the yoga group (n=48, mean age ± SD=25.18 ± 6.43) and the physical exercise group (n=48, mean age ± SD=25.02 ± 5.02). The participants in the yoga group attended the 90 min yoga sessions for 12 weeks (six days per week) whereas the physical exercise group attended exercise sessions for the same duration. Above mentioned interventions were in addition to standard rehabilitation treatment. The study measured the Self-Control, Anxiety, Depression, Sleep parameters, and Mindfulness at the baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention. Results A significant enhancement in self-control was observed in both the yoga (p<0.033, d=0.33) and the exercise group (p<0.038, d=0.32). Yoga group showed significant improvement in mindfulness score (p<0.017, d=0.37), whereas exercise group did not show any significant changes in mindfulness (p<0.169, d=0.21). The depression and anxiety scores reduced significantly in both yoga (p<0.044, d=0.31; p<0.025, d=0.35 resp.) and exercise (p<0.032, d=0.34. p<0.039, d=0.32. resp.) group. Furthermore, significant reduction was seen in sleep disturbance after yoga (p<0.001, d=0.52) and exercise (p<0.001, d=0.78) intervention. The sleep – somnolence score reduced significantly only in yoga group (p<0.020, d=0.36). The magnitude of improvement was higher in the yoga group than physical exercise group on self-control, mindfulness, depression, anxiety and some sleep parameters, however the between group differences could not reach to the level of significance. Conclusions The 12 week yoga intervention did not appear to be significantly more effective than the 12 week physical exercise program on psychological wellbeing in male participants with substance use disorder. However, greater improvement in psychological wellbeing was observed within the yoga group. In future, a multi-centric study with robust design, larger sample size and longer follow-up is required to conform the present results and to find out the difference between the impacts of yoga and physical exercise on psychological wellbeing in substance abusers.

The Impact of Parental Substance Abuse and Psychosocial Behaviour of Children in Age Group of 6-12 years: School Based Study

Aim of the study is 1. Find out the extent of reported parental substance abuse 2. Assess the psychosocial development of child 3. Assess the perceived impact of parental substance abuse on psychosocial development of children. Methodology: The study was conducted in the school of Wardha district, Maharashtra, India. Population: School going children of age 6-12yrs and their parents. 200 sample size was selected, each 100 parent and 100 children. Non-probability convenient sampling technique used. A structured questionnaire used for both parent and their children separately. Results: The reported prevalence rate of parental substance abuse as reported by children shows the ratio as: The rate of no substance abusers which scores from 0-12 of frequency (14) is 14%.The rate of Borderline abusers which scores from 13-24 of frequency (23) is 23%. The rate of Mild abusers which scores from 25-36 of frequency (22) is 22%.The rate of Moderate abusers which scores from 37-48 of frequency (23) is 23%.The rate of Severe abusers which scores from 49-60 of frequency (18) is 18%. The reported prevalence rate of parental substance abuse as reported by parent shows the ratio as: The rate of no substance abusers which scores from 0-9 of frequency (6) is 6%. The rate of Borderline abusers which scores from 10-18 of frequency (24) is 24%. The rate of Mild abusers which scores from 19-27 of frequency (28) is 28%. The rate of Moderate abusers which scores from 28-36 of frequency (18) is 18%. The rate of Severe abusers which scores from 37-44 of frequency (26) is 26%. Psychosocial behaviour of children which reveals that most of the children will act as crying or will get angry which is an age appropriate behaviour.

Psychiatric and Medical Co-morbidities among the substance abusers presenting at Patna Medical college- A clinical study

Background: The link between hazardous types of illegal drug use and significant public health issues is a critical issue for national and international drug policy. There are several negative health effects connected with drug use, with the avoidance of both overdosefatalities and drug-related blood-borne diseases being of special importance. However, there has been an increasing understanding in recent decades that the existence of mental illnesses connected with drug use poses a significant barrier for public health interventions. Aims and Objectives: • To investigate the trend of drug misuse in North Bihar Patients. • To determine the co-morbid & psychiatric medical illnesses. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional research conducted over a one-year period on 200 drug abusers from North Bihar and presenting at Patna Medical College in the Indian state of Bihar. Individuals from the sample were separated into two groups based on their age (<25 Years & >25 years) and gender. The pattern of drug abuse, as well as the mental and medical co-morbidities that were linked with it, were investigated in relation to age and gender. Results: The sample size of the present study was 200 consisting of 183 males and 17 females. The total sample was analyzed separately with respect to age and sex. There were 55 patients below 25 years and 128 patients’ ≥ 25 years. The study found that 91.5% of substance abusers were males. Among the males, 48.6% were abusing alcohol and 19.1% were abusing polysubstance. 18.6% were intravenous drug abusers and 8.2% showed high risk behavior. Among the females, 29.4% of the female patients were abusing alcohol. The percentage of women abusing poly-substance was 35.3% and poly-substance and alcohol was 17.6%. The number of female patients involved in high-risk behavior was only 11.8%. Intravenous drug abuse and high-risk behavior was commoner in age group < 25 years than in the age group of >25 years. 17.5% received a psychiatric co-morbid diagnosis and 38.5% received a medical co-morbid diagnosis. The prevalence of schizophrenia and depression among male patients with mental co-morbidity was 63.3 % (n=19), with depression accounting for 6.7 % (n=2). On the other hand, only five female patients, were found to have mental co-morbidity. Conclusion: The large number of young individuals taking intravenous drugs in north Bihar reflects the high level of human-to-human contact with bordering North-Eastern states and Nepal. The situation is critical, and immediate action is required.

Risky Profession: How U.S. Librarians Fight for Their Safety

In society, the concept of public library is traditionally associated with silence, peace and safety. However, modern realities indicate that the library profession is associated with many risks. As the experience of the United States shows, employees of public libraries are increasingly faced with problems that disrupt the normal functioning of library and information services and negatively affect the emotional and psychological state of staff and patrons. Ensuring safety of the library is a common concern, equally affecting both employees and patrons of the library. A threat to the safety of library is a potentially or actually possible event, action, process or phenomenon that can disrupt the stability of its operation or lead to shutdown of its functioning. The article considers the subjective threats, i. e. caused by the actions and behaviour of people. These can be mentally unbalanced, substance abusers or armed visitors, computer hackers, etc. Many of them pose a real danger to life and health of both librarians and library patrons. Based on the analysis of the U.S. periodical press, the author provides facts that clearly demonstrate the vulnerability of public library staff to the threats of the modern world: the risk of being killed, the risk of drug overdose of visitors, the risk of hacker attacks on library computers, the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. Library rules and regulations are created to protect the rights, interests and safety of users and employees. It is necessary to keep them up-to-date taking into account the socio-cultural changes in modern society and transformation of human behaviour. The article shows what measures are taken by U.S. public libraries to ensure the safety of employees and patrons.

Glutathione-S-Transferase Pi and Malondialdehyde in Alcoholic Patients Attending Smhrc and Avbrh Hospital

Introduction: Alcohol abuse is a global health problem. The liver maintains high muscle damage by over drinking because it is a major source of ethanol metabolism. Among substance abusers, about 35 % develop advanced liver disease because the number of viral mutations increases, slows down, or inhibits the progression of liver disease. Glutathione-S-transferase is a family of Phase II enzyme-releasing toxins that cause the synthesis of glutathione in a variety of chronic and external electrophilic types. GSTs are divided into two very different family members: family members bound by microsomal membrane and cytosolic. Aim: To study the Glutathione S Transferase π and Malondialdehyde in Alcoholic Patients. Materials and Methods: Present study comprises 100 Subjects were included in the study and distributed in two groups. Patients from group one was alcoholic patients, enrolled from medicine ward and 50 non-alcoholic healthy individuals from group two were from non-alcoholic population as well as medicine ward. Results: Rise of GGT, AST and ALT in Alcoholic patients (54.54 ± 3.72, 19.21 ± 0.68 and 24.32 ± 1.27 respectively) as compare to healthy individuals (24.40 ± 3.16, 10.36±0.35 and 17.06±0.84 respectively). The level of GST-π was decreased in alcoholic patients (62.44±26.30) as compare to control group (83.26±32.71). Similarly, the level of MDA was raised in alcoholic patients (5.36 ± 0.51) as compare to healthy individuals (4.73 ± 0.21). Conclusion: Present study suggests that it would be vital to contain SGOT, SGPT, GGT, MDA and GST-π calculation in the prognostic assessment of alcoholic patients.

Anxiety, Loneliness, Drug Craving, and Depression Among Substance Abusers in Sichuan Province, China

Studies have reported that anxiety had a positive effect on depression among substance abusers in males. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying this relationship in substance abusers in males. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of loneliness and drug craving between anxiety and depression in substance abusers in males. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, The UCLA Loneliness Scale, Drug Craving Scale, and The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were employed into this study to investigate 585 substance abusers in males (age range of 20–58 years: M = 33.21, SD = 6.97). Structural equation modeling and the bootstrap approach were used to analyze the mediating effect of loneliness and drug craving on the relationship between anxiety and depression. The results indicated that: Loneliness had a significant positive correlation with anxiety (r = 0.37, p &lt; 0.001) and depression (r = 0.49, p &lt; 0.001); Drug craving had a significant positive correlation with anxiety (r = 0.28, p &lt; 0.001) and depression (r = 0.39, p &lt; 0.001). Loneliness and drug craving mediated the link between anxiety and depression. There was a significant positive correlation between substance abusers in male’s anxiety, loneliness, drug craving, and depression. Loneliness and drug craving had a significant mediating effect on the relationship between anxiety and depression. Therefore, it was suggested that substance abusers in male’s anxiety and depression might be improved and driven by decreasing loneliness and drug craving. Targeted interventions to decrease substance abusers in male’s loneliness and drug craving should be developed, implemented, and help them to recover.

Should Relapse Always Be Punished? A Survey Study into Forensic Social Professionals’ Attitudes to Substance Use

Health professionals’ attitudes to substance abusers have been reported as suboptimal with potential adverse consequences for the quality of health care provided. Less is known about professionals working with addicted clients in mandated contexts. The aim of this study is to gain insight into forensic social professionals’ attitudes to substance use and examine differences between subgroups of professionals. An online survey including the Brief Substance Abuse Attitude Scale was completed by 314 Dutch forensic social professionals. Overall, forensic social professionals’ attitudes to substance use and treatability were positive, but there were differences regarding needed treatment interventions and ways of controlling substance use. Professionals who work within specialist addiction services had less moralistic and stereotypical attitudes. Professionals who have personal experiences with addiction reported to be more tolerant, but at the same time more convinced of strict control of substances use of their clients.