Interpersonal guilt and substance use in college students.

BACKGROUND: The college years are a time for developing independence and separating from one's family, and they are also a time in which substance use often escalates. This study examined the relationships between use of substances and interpersonal guilt, an emotion that can arise from feelings about separation among college students. METHODS: In total, 1865 college students completed a survey evaluating substance use and interpersonal guilt. Regular users of alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, and other illicit drugs were compared with nonregular users of each substance. Sequential linear regression, controlling for confounding variables, examined relationships between regular use of each substance and scores on a guilt index. RESULTS: Risky drinkers and daily smokers had significantly more interpersonal guilt than their peers who did not regularly use these substances. In contrast, regular cannabis users had significantly less guilt than nonregular cannabis users. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that substance use among college students may be related to interpersonal guilt and family separation issues, and this relationship may vary across substances.

Interpersonal guilt in college student pathological gamblers.

BACKGROUND: Interpersonal guilt is associated with psychopathology, but its relationship to pathological gambling has not been studied. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship between interpersonal guilt and pathological gambling. METHODS: In total, 1979 college students completed a questionnaire containing the South Oaks Gambling Screen, Interpersonal Guilt Questionnaire, and questions about substance use. Students identified as pathological gamblers (n = 145) were matched to nonproblem gamblers with respect to demographics and substance use. RESULTS: Pathological gamblers had significantly higher interpersonal guilt than their nonproblem gambling peers. CONCLUSIONS AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Pathological gambling college students have excessive interpersonal guilt, and these findings may lead to novel treatment approaches.

Black women talk about workplace stress and how they cope.

Black women face the same struggles as White women; however, they have to face issues of diversity on top of inequality. The purpose of this study was to explore work-related stressors that affect the lives of Black women and how they cope with them. Using an exploratory design with grounded-theory methods, five basic themes emerged that identify when racism and sexism are experienced as stressors for African American women in the workplace. The themes are: (1) being hired or promoted in the workplace, (2) defending one's race and lack of mentorship, (3) shifting or code switching to overcome barriers to employment, (4) coping with racism and discrimination, and (5) being isolated and/or excluded. The results from this study indicate African American women use emotion- and problem-focused coping responses to manage stress (e.g., racism and sexism) in the workplace. The article concludes with a discussion of practice implications of these findings.

Women service members, veterans, and their families: What we know now.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight what we know now about female service members, veterans, and their families. The experiences of U.S. female service members and veterans are more complex than previous eras and significant demographic changes have taken place. U.S. female veterans are more likely to be younger, come from ethnic and racial minority groups, have children, and combat exposure. U.S. female service members report high rates of sexual violence and they are more vulnerable to homelessness and unemployment when compared to previous female military cohorts. U.S. female service members and veterans are also at higher risk for significant mental and health issues. Children and adolescents of women service members and veterans may also carry a heavy burden as a result of lengthy deployments. A majority of female service members and veterans will utilize community based healthcare and social services, therefore, it is essential that all healthcare providers understand the unique needs of this cohort of women. Practice implications at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels are discussed. Qualitative and quantitative studies that expand our understanding of women's experience in the military and as veterans are encouraged.

Frontline worker perceptions of the empowerment process in community-based agencies.

Although many in the social work profession have written about empowerment, few have offered a description of the empowerment process from the perspective of clients and workers in high-risk communities. This qualitative study presents a model of empowerment practice from the perspective of frontline workers, the challenges they faced, and the strategies they used to deal with these challenges. Interviews with 28 family support specialists, social workers, and team leaders from four Casey Family Resource Centers over a two-year period explored the experiences of empowerment-oriented practice in community-based settings. Frontline staff described six stages of the empowerment process, the obstacles to implementing empowerment practice with disadvantaged clients, and the steps they took to resolve them. Implications of these findings for organizations and professionals transitioning to empowerment practice are discussed.