Principal components analysis of the inventory of drinking situations: empirical categories of drinking by alcoholics.

Male alcoholics (n = 336) were given the Inventory of Drinking Situations (IDS), a 100-item questionnaire that asks subjects to rate the frequency with which they drank in various situations during the previous year. A principal components analysis of the responses suggests there are three major categories of situations in which alcoholics are likely to drink: negative affect states, positive affect states combined with social cues to drink, and attempts to test one's ability to control one's drinking. These categories are compared with recent empirical attempts to define categories of alcohol and smoking relapse.

Making sure: integrating menstrual care practices into activities of daily living.

Menstruation, when it is occurring, is a continuous phenomenon and is not under voluntary control. In order to manage the menstrual flow and continue to participate in daily life, women have created a self-care process, which is termed "making sure." Making sure enables a culturally appropriate response to an eliminative process, while it minimizes the time and effort directed to menstrual care. This recurring process enables menstruating women to continue their daily activities knowing that the current menstrual care practice is effective and that future menstrual demands can be met easily and readily.

Effects of route of fluid administration on severity of side effects with post-metrizamide myelogram.

The effect of route of hydration on the severity of side effects of nausea, vomiting, and headaches for 13 patients receiving a metrizamide myelogram was studied. Six patients were hydrated by mouth only and seven by mouth and intravenously. Severity was measured 24 hours postmyelogram with a visual analogue scale for each side effect. Controlling for the volume of all fluid received, significantly more severe headaches were reported by patients hydrated only orally. For this small sample, no significant differences were found for severity of nausea or vomiting. The study and its implications for nursing are described.

Coping with uncertainty and ambivalence while awaiting a cadaveric renal transplant.

A qualitative approach was used to identify concerns of candidates awaiting cadaveric renal transplant and to identify coping strategies used during the wait. Patients who were within 10 days postrenal transplant were interviewed and asked to recall their concerns during the wait. Two major concerns were identified through the analysis--uncertainty and ambivalence. The problems are presented with supporting vignettes and strategies used by the subjects to cope with the problem.

Maternal demographic, situational and psychosocial factors and their relationship to enrollment in prenatal care: a review of the literature.

Whether or not a woman enrolls in prenatal care in a timely fashion is a major predictor of pregnancy outcome. In this review, we consider maternal demographic, situational and psychosocial factors which have been studied with relation to enrollment in prenatal care. Paying increased attention to some situational barriers such as problems with child care or transportation, and a number of psychosocial factors such as unplanned pregnancy and negative feelings about medical care, holds promise in achieving improved utilization of prenatal care.

Seeking safe passage: utilizing health care during pregnancy.

This grounded theory study was conducted to explore how women utilize health care during pregnancy. The 27 women who were interviewed had sought prenatal care early, late or not at all. Transcriptions from the interviews were subjected to constant comparative analysis. The major concern of the women was seeking safe passage through pregnancy and childbirth. Processes used to achieve safe passage were searching for care, consulting, transferring, waiting, contingency planning and self-care. Discussed in this paper is the role that choice plays in utilizing care and transferring some elements of prenatal care to women to manage themselves.

Symptoms of preterm labor and self-diagnostic confusion.

The purpose of this study was to learn how women experiencing preterm labor come to know a health deviation exists, and what they do when faced with such a problem. Grounded theory methodology was used as the research approach. Extensive interviews were conducted with 28 women about their care-seeking experiences with preterm labor. Ambiguous symptoms, absence of a meaningful label to attach to symptoms, and the context of pregnancy with its expected discomforts come together to create a situation of diagnostic confusion. Appropriate action to take in response to the diagnostic confusion is not self-evident. Deliberate and protracted efforts to make sense of and deal with symptoms of preterm labor are attempted. Making sense consists of three subprocesses: comparing, gathering data, and seeking information. Strategies used to deal with the symptoms include self-treating, ignoring, positive thinking, and waiting. Recourse to a professional is used as the strategy of last resort when symptoms can no longer be contained.

Carcinogenicity and teratogenicity vs. psychogenicity: psychological characteristics associated with self-reported Agent Orange exposure among Vietnam combat veterans who seek treatment for substance abuse.

This study asked, "What are the psychological characteristics of Vietnam combat veterans who claim Agent Orange exposure when compared with combat-experienced cohorts who do not report such contamination?" The question was researched among 153 heroin addicts, polydrug abusers, and chronic alcoholics who were seeking treatment: 58 reported moderate to high defoliant exposure while in combat; 95 reported minimal to no exposure while in Vietnam. The null hypothesis was accepted for measures of childhood and present family social climate, premilitary backgrounds, reasons for seeking treatment, patterns and types of illicit drug and alcohol use, interpersonal problems, intellectual functioning, and short-term memory. The null hypothesis was rejected for personality differences, however, those who self-reported high Agent Orange exposure scored significantly higher on MMPI scales F, Hypochondriasis, Depression, Paranoia, Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia, Mania, and Social interoversion. The results suggest that clinicians carefully assess attributional processing of those who report traumatic experience.