...Research Study Analysis PSY 325: Statistics for the Behavioral & Social Sciences October 1, 2012 Research Study Analysis Researchers gather data in order to conduct studies that assist in the behavioral and social sciences. The analysis of this data can determine tendencies among populations, the best course of treatment for common social diseases, such as drug or alcohol addiction, or the reasons behind behavior among certain populations. Introduction A number of studies have been conducted in order to provide members of the medical and psychological community with information to determine the best course of treatment for patients with alcohol addiction. These studies take into account other factors, such as personality disorders, chronic diseases, and also address the use of medication and psychological treatment. The first study entitled, Personality Disorders Among Alcoholic Outpatients: Prevalence and Course in Treatment, attempts to determine the prevalence of personality disorders among men and women seeking outpatient treatment for alcoholism. The hypothesis is that if there is a personality disorder present, it should help determine the type of treatment an alcoholic receives. The treatment chosen should be tailored to the patient’s comorbid personality disorder, or lack thereof. The second study entitled, Chronic disease and recent addiction treatment utilization among alcohol and drug dependent adults, “the objective of this paper is to...
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...Being an addict or becoming an addict to something, for instance, drugs can consume someone’s life. This subject is very puzzling in the medical world. Being an addict means that a person is “reliant on a substance or behavior that the individual has little power to resist (NIDA).” If a person has an already predisposed personality to becoming addicted to something, then that addiction can consume the person’s actions and every thought. An addictive personality is referred to as a particular set of personality traits that can make an individual predisposed to addictions. Two types of addictions are substance-abuse addictions and behavioral-based addictions. In substance abuse addictions, dopamine is released in the brain due to the usage of the drug. This causes a range of sensations to happen, producing a euphoric event, making the addict to feel this sensation again, leading to drug abuse. It creates a compulsive need for the drug and craving the drug badly that when the drug isn’t administered could lead to withdrawals. On the other hand, the behavioral addictions are similar to the substance abuse addictions, expect that the individual is more addicted to the behavior associated with drug use rather than being addicted to the substance. A “high” or euphoric event still happens with behavioral abusers, forcing the brain to crave that “high” again, blocking out any negative consequences that happen when using the drug. The need to repeatedly go through the drug experience, to get...
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...The Disease Model According to the disease model of addiction, addiction is a brain disease. Marked changes in brain structure and function that, over time, lead to involuntary use or compulsive behavior are the key characteristics of the disease (Leshner, 2001). The behavioral expressions of addiction are uncontrollable, and in that aspect, similar to that of other brain diseases. For example, just as schizophrenics cannot voluntarily control their hallucinations and delusions or Parkinson’s patients cannot control their trembling, an addict cannot control the urge to use (Leshner, 2001). Once an individual has the disease, it is irreversible. It is an incurable, chronic illness. Proponents of this model purport treating the addict just as one would treat an individual with any other brain disease or chronic illness (McLellan, Lewis, O’Brien & Klecher, 2000). As with other diseases, a holistic treatment approach, combining medication therapy, behavioral therapy and any needed social services and rehabilitation is considered the best treatment approach (Leshner, 2001). Research would seem to support the position that chronic substance use produces long-lasting changes in the brain (Volkow, Chang, Gene-Jack, Fowler et al., 2001) that are responsible for the impaired cognitive functioning, including the compulsive urge to use, that is characteristic of addictive behavior (Leshner, 2001). The comparative analysis conducted by McLellan and others (2000) also suggests similar kinds...
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...TOPICS Choose one (1) of the follow two passages. These passages are also available as separate Word documents and PDFs posted to week 13A of the Moodle course site. PASSAGE 1 Downloading Movies from the Internet for Free is Wrong! Adapted from: “Downloading music from the internet” by Dr. Asher Meir from The Jewish Ethicist. http://www.besr.org/ethicist/downloadmusic.html It is wrong to download copyright protected movies from the Internet for free using peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing using systems like BitTorrent. Movies are similar to other public goods like bridges or roads. They cost a lot to create, but once they're around many people can enjoy them at low cost. Just as the government supports bridges by giving builders a concession to collect large tolls, even though your trip costs them a minimal amount, so it supports movie production by granting a copyright which enables the film maker and producer to collect from viewers. Downloading a copyright protected movie for free from the Internet is like making a detour around the toll booth. Even if you don't get a ticket, you've taken a free ride on someone else's investment. Our Sages viewed paying tolls as a prime example of the citizen's duty to obey the law, and emphasized the importance of avoiding even the appearance of evading this duty. And while it is true that if everybody downloads copyright protected movies for free from the internet, eventually the copyright may be impossible to defend...
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...article comparison. The articles selected have something in common – treatment of drug. The first article is “Do drug treatment variables predict cognitive performance in multidrug-treated opioid-dependent patients? A regression analysis study” by Pekka Rapeli, Carola Fabritius, Hely Kalska and Hannu Alho. This article was taken from an open access article under Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 2012, at http://www.substanceabusepolicy.com/content/7/1/45. The second article entitled “Treating Drug Abuse and Addiction in the Criminal Justice System: Improving Public Health and Safety” by Redonna K. Chandler, Bennett W. Fletcher and Nora D. Volkow. It was taken from a public access journal under National Institute of Health: JAMA. 2009 January 14; 301(2): 183–190. doi:10.1001/jama.2008.976. The purpose of the first article was to examine the predictive power of drug treatment variables on specific cognitive performance measures in multidrug-treated opioid dependent patients. Also, the researchers interested in finding out which of the possible significant associations turn out as hypothesized. On the other hand, the purpose of the second article was to summarize relevant neuroscientific findings and evidence-based principles of addiction treatment that, if implemented in the criminal justice system, could help improve public health and reduce criminal behaviour. For methodologies, the first research involved 104 Opioid-Dependent Patients who were treated either...
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...Addiction Movie Analysis Sheri Lewis SCI/100 July 28, 2015 PADMA TADI-UPPALA Addiction Movie Analysis Addiction - “a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance, including mood-altering behaviors or activities, despite ongoing negative consequences” (Donatelle, 2014, Chapter 12, Recognizing and Avoiding, What is Addiction?). Less Than Zero An unfettered movie based on a novel with the same name written by Bret Easton Ellis. It revolves around a college student that returns home for Christmas vacation to spend time with his friends. Unbeknownst to him, things are very different from the way they were when he left. Sex, drugs, alcohol and stealing to support the addictions have fragmented a huge part of his friends lives. Addictions Addressed in the Movie Several addictions are addressed in the movie; sex, alcohol, drug (cocaine), and the party lifestyle. These addictions led the characters in the movie to make poor decisions that often exposed them life threatening situations; stopping to have sex in the middle of the interstate to satisfy their need for sexual pleasure, having sex with multiple partners in the same night, breaking into parents’ home to steal money and items to finance their addiction, and waking up in unfamiliar places after a night of excessive alcohol drinking and doing drugs. Julian Julian’s first addiction, alcohol, began in high school. He received a bottle of champagne...
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...Drug Addiction Leah Richards PSY326: Research Methods Maleka Hillsman August 27, 2012 The topic that caught my attention when I was reading my choices was “Drug Addiction”. Drug addiction is something that should not be taken lightly by anyone who has a family member or friend with this issue. We often wonder how and what make people turn into being a drug addict. “Drug addiction is rooted in long-term adaptations within the brain that promotes escalating drug use, difficulty quitting, and relapse—all despite the awareness of negative consequences.” With that being said I have always wondered what keep a person going back to their addiction and why can’t they quit. When I read the article and it mention how drug addiction is rooted a light bulb clicked in my head. When something is rooted inside of you whether it is for good or bad it is hard to break. “It was previously hypothesized that addiction was caused in part of an imbalance between an impulsive system that governs appetitive motivation and is driven by immediate rewards on the one hand and a reflective system that regulate and control impulsive according to future pleasurable or aversive consequences.” With this study they were able to predict the hypothesis and see what causes addiction to happen in some cases. I think that the method used in order to see how people become an addict was efficient and it was very precise that made the validity of the experiment a success. It is important to...
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...cause many problems. For me, I experienced drugs through my parents; they started at a young age and experienced the disease of addiction. The consequences of their disease hindered themselves as well as their family members. For my father, it was death and luckily for my mom, things turned out better being that she is now 23 years clean and is able to be a great parent/ role model for me. Some effects caused by drug use are physical consequences, the effect on others, and the withdrawing process. Drug abuse can be detrimental to not only the user, but also the people around them; drug abuse is a disease and it can lead to serious consequences in a person’s life. The physical consequences of drug are destructive! The use of drugs messes up our body as a whole and causes negative effects such as body odor, tooth decay, weight loss, weight gain, and even high blood pressure. An analysis of data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse between 1979-2002 (now the National Survey on Drug Use and Health) estimated that 590,000 young adults aged 18–29 had ever injected drugs. (Aids.gov, 2013) Because addicts are not mindful of the risks being that they are in their disease, they are careless of the precautions that should be taken when sharing / passing around their drugs to others. Many diseases can derive from the use of drugs. For example, hepatitis C, this disease is very common in IV drug users who share the same needle and is not curable. According to John Hopkins Bloomberg...
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...McAlister Institute McAlister Institute is nonprofit 501c3 organizations dedicated to helping people who suffer from the disease of addiction regain control of their lives. Funded in part by the County of San Diego and through grants, the organization has been around for 49 years. Medi-cal is accepted for payment. If the client does not have Medi-cal the fee will be based on a sliding scale. “No child will be turned down based on there inability to pay. That is a guaranteed. If the child needs treatment it will be provided “(V. Lopez, Adolescent AOD Counselor, September 6, 2012). Valerie Lopez works at McAlister Institute as an Adolescent Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Counselor. The interview method was conducted over the telephone and through e-mails because she is in San Diego, California. It is Valerie’s responsibility to; schedule and conduct screenings and intake. Facilitate groups directly associated with alcohol and chemical dependency issues. She provides individual counseling to a case load of 25-35 clients and to assess treatment objective progress. Develop treatment objectives and goals for program participants. Assist in peer review of client files to ensure accuracy of medical and non medical billing. Contact client’s parents via telephone or written correspondence regarding absences from program activities and delinquent payments. Documents levels of program participation in the client’s case file. She provides ongoing monitoring of the clients’ compliance with...
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...Abstract Sexual addiction is a bigger problem than most people know. In today’s society it has become more of an issue because of the availability of sexually explicit materials. The main source for most sex addicts to access sexual materials is the internet. Sexual addiction unlike other addictions such as Drugs and alcohol, is a lot harder for the addicted person to open up and get help for. Because of the nature of the addiction there is a lot of shame involved. There are people in high positions at their church, doctors, lawyers and politicians who feel that if they reach out for help they can lose everything they have worked so hard for. Unfortunately, this shame that people feel keeps them from seeking the help they need. This issue should not be ignored but because of the negative nature associated with sexual addiction there aren’t very many resources available to sex addicts, and in most cases the church does not acknowledge it as a disease but more as a sin. This paper will explore these issues more as well as analyze the text the text by Dr. Mark Laaser. Summary The Text by Dr. Mark Laaser, Healing Sexual Wounds of sexual addiction deals with the many issues of sexual addiction. Sex addicts are dealing with a disease just as any other addict. They usually have consequences as a result of their addictions as well as experiencing extreme guilt afterwards. The text begins with addressing the differences between healthy sexuality and sex addiction. According to Laaser...
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...Disease Management: Empowering Patients and Improving the Effectiveness of Patient Care Disease Management: Empowering Patients and Improving the Effectiveness of Patient Care Managed care organizations are continually searching for new ways to cut costs and people trying to manage an illness or disease are looking for ways to ease their symptoms, maintain their lifestyle, and stay out of the hospital. People with diseases are in the unique position for managed care organizations to focus cost saving programs on. Diseases can be incredibly expensive to treat and while people suffering from diseases are not a majority of patients, they are certainly the most costly (Lorig & Holman, 2003). Disease management programs can also motivate patients to change their lives by better managing their disease and get those diseases under control by giving patients the skills and expertise necessary. Disease management programs seek to change the approach to patient care with regards to difficult conditions by incorporating evidence based medicine techniques and outcomes that can contribute to the wellness of patients by using combinations of education, provider practice guidelines, consultations, appropriate drug utilization, supplementary drugs and services. Focus on these areas can keep patients illnesses from reaching emergent care levels as well as reducing the outlay associated with high–cost diseases. Disease Management History Chronic conditions make up more than 40...
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...Drug Addiction Crime or Disease? Interim and Final Reports of the Joint Committee of the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association on Narcotic Drugs. INTERIM REPORT For the last half-century public authorities in the United States have been wrestling with the problem of controlling addiction to narcotic drugs. Since the twenties, legislation and enforcement policies have aimed at total repression, with criminal sanctions of notable severity attaching to every transaction connected with the non-medical use of drugs. Drug-law enforcement has become a major police activity of federal, state and local governments; the threat of long imprisonment, even of death penalties, hangs over not only the smuggler and the peddler, but the addict-victim of the illicit traffic. Addiction to narcotic substances has been recognized as a health problem for a long time and in many different countries. It has also in our times and in our national community, emerged as a criminal law problem of distressing magnitude and persistency. The fields of medicine and law are thus equally affected, and the Joint Committee which offers this report has undertaken its assignment with enthusiasm at the prospect of uniting its parent organizations in a common effort centered in an area where the concerns of each overlap and largely coincide. If the Joint Committee can contribute something towards mutual enlightenment and ultimate agreement between the medical and legal professions regarding...
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...Internet Addiction and Depression, Anxiety and Stress ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between internet addiction and depression, anxiety, and stress. Participants were 300 university students who were enrolled in mid-size state University, in Turkey. In this study, the Online Cognition Scale and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale were used. In correlation analysis, internet addiction was found positively related to depression, anxiety, and stress. According to path analysis results, depression, anxiety, and stress were predicted positively by internet addiction. This research shows that internet addiction has a direct impact on depression, anxiety, and stress. INTRODUCTION Cyber space is a virtual space in which we communicate with other people on the network due to the wide distribution of computers. Cyber space has appeared as a new environment basically different from the physical space in which we live. However, the advancement of Internet technology not only brings benefits, but also negative results. Of these negative aspects, excessive Internet use is increasing dramatically. Typical Internet behaviors included revolving around the PC rooms, participating in chat rooms, checking e-mailbox too many times, playing online games, and surfing pornographic contents. Internet addiction is described as an impulse control disorder that does not involve use of an intoxicating drug and is very similar to pathological gambling (Young, 1996)...
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...of the tobacco plant by curing them. Tobacco contains the alkaloid nicotine, a stimulant. Tobacco use is a risk factor for many diseases, especially those affecting the heart, liver and lungs, and several cancers. In 2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) named tobacco as the world's single greatest cause of preventable death. TYPES OF TOBACCO PPRODUCTS There is no safe form of tobacco use. All forms contain nicotine and can cause addiction and health problems. Mainly two types smoking and smokeless tobacco 1. Smoking tobacco https://youtu.be/c6Ul9QIfBno Cigarettes Bidis Cigars, Cigarillos and Little Cigars Electronic cigarette or E- cigarette (nicotine delivery system) Hookah Pipe 2. Smokeless Tobacco * is not burned * Includes tobacco that can be sucked or chewed1 * Can be spit or swallowed, depending on the product1 * Can be spit less, depending on the product2 * Contains nicotine and is addictive1 * May appeal to youth because it comes in flavors such as cinnamon, berry, vanilla, and apple3,4 Types of smokeless tobacco: * Chewing tobacco (loose leaf, plug, or twist and may come in flavors)1 * Snuff (moist, dry, or in packets [U.S. snus]) * Dissolvable (lozenges, sticks, strips, orbs) Tobacco Facts and Figures Smoking * Harms nearly every organ of the body * Causes many diseases and reduces the health of smokers in general * Nearly 18 of every 100 U.S. adults aged 18 years or older (17.8%) currently smoke...
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...Computer Game Addiction Stats and Research * Personality traits like trait anxiety, sensation seeking, neuroticism, and aggression appear to be related to the development of gaming addiction. Mehroof, M et al. (2010). Online gaming addiction: The role of sensation seeking, self-control, neuroticism, aggression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13, 313-316. * Regions of the brain associated with cravings in substance abuse also appear to be activated in gaming addicts when they view images of video games. Ko, C. et al. (2009). Brain activities associated with gaming urge of online gaming addiction. Journal or Psychiatric Research, 43, 739-747. * There is a difference between "excessive gaming" and "addictive gaming". Two gamers may play for an identical number of hours each day, but their psychological motivation and the meaning that gaming has within their lives can be very different. Gaming addiction should be defined by how much the game negatively impacts others areas of life, not by how much time is spent playing. Griffiths, M et al. (2010). The role of context in online gaming excess and addiction: Some case study evidence. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 8, 119-125. * In a volunteer sample, 41% of online gamers acknowledged that they use gaming as an escape. In the same sample, 7% were viewed as "dependent". These gamers possessed several behavioral attributes that...
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