%A Russell Webster
%T User-led interventions: an expanding resource?
%C Lisbon
%D 2017
%I European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
%L ndc28067

%J Drug and Alcohol Findings Bulletin
%T Responsible drinking ?social norms? messages not credible, say students.
%X A study set in a UK university found telling students that their peers drink less than they might think did not reinforce their intentions to drink responsibly. Though the message that most students have ?six drinks or less? on each occasion was clear, students did not believe, trust or relate to it

Key points from summary and commentary
?	The ?social norms? approach aims to correct students? misperceptions about how much their peers drink, in a bid to curb their own excessive drinking.
?	Tested among 1020 University of Liverpool students, there proved to be little to no impact from disseminating norms about responsible drinking.
?	Though there was evidence of participants overestimating how much the majority of their peers drink, and a link between believing others followed the norm and students? usual drinking behaviour, norms did not appear to be driving drinking in the latter.
%C London
%N 5 May 2017
%D 2017
%I Drug and Alcohol Findings
%L ndc27385

%T Does AA really help drinkers stop?
%X 12-step fellowships offer a way to reconcile shrunken resources with the desire to get more patients safely out of treatment. Accounting for the self-selection bias which has obscured AA?s impacts, this synthesis of US trials finds that attending more meetings after treatment boosts abstinence. Why then is research equivocal on whether promoting attendance improves drink-related outcomes?

Key points from summary and commentary
?	This synthesis of US trials found that the more AA meetings problem drinkers attend after treatment, the fewer the days on which they drink, even after accounting for the possibility that more promising patients self-select into AA.
?	However, research is equivocal on whether systematically and intensively encouraging attendance at 12-step groups significantly improves drink-related outcomes; heavy drinking and adverse consequences are usually unaffected even if abstinence is modestly boosted.
?	A trial in England found no statistically significant improvements in abstinence after more active referral to 12-step groups, but was not a definitive test of these types of interventions.
%C London
%N 28 March 2017
%D 2017
%I Drug and Alcohol Findings
%L ndc27089

%A Judith Watson
%A Paul Toner
%A Ed Day
%A Donna Back
%A Louca-Mai Brady
%A Caroline Fairhurst
%A Charlotte Renwick
%A Lorna Templeton
%A Shabana Akhtar
%A Charlie Lloyd
%A Jinshuo Li
%A Kim Cocks
%A Sangeeta Ambegaokar
%A Steve Parrott
%A Paul McArdle
%A Eilish Gilvarry
%A Alex Copello
%J Health Technology Assessment
%T Youth social behaviour and network therapy (Y-SBNT): adaptation of a family and social network intervention for young people who misuse alcohol and drugs - a randomised controlled feasibility trial.
%X BACKGROUND: Family interventions appear to be effective at treating young people's substance misuse. However, implementation of family approaches in UK services is low. This study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting young people to an intervention based on an adaptation of adult social behaviour and network therapy. It also sought to involve young people with experience of using substance misuse services in the research process.

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting young people to family and social network therapy and to explore ways in which young people with experience of using substance misuse services could be involved in a study of this nature.

DESIGN: A pragmatic, two-armed, randomised controlled open feasibility trial.
SETTING: Two UK-based treatment services for young people with substance use problems, with recruitment taking place from May to November 2014.

PARTICIPANTS: Young people aged 12-18 years, newly referred and accepted for structured interventions for drug and/or alcohol problems.

INTERVENTIONS: A remote, web-based computer randomisation system allocated young people to adapted youth social behaviour and network therapy (Y-SBNT) or treatment as usual (TAU). Y-SBNT participants were intended to receive up to six 50-minute sessions over a maximum of 12 weeks. TAU participants continued to receive usual care delivered by their service.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Feasibility was measured by recruitment rates, retention in treatment and follow-up completion rates. The main clinical outcome was the proportion of days on which the main problem substance was used in the preceding 90-day period as captured by the Timeline Follow-Back interview at 3 and 12 months.

RESULTS: In total, 53 young people were randomised (Y-SBNT, n?=?26; TAU, n?=?27) against a target of 60 (88.3%). Forty-two young people attended at least one treatment session [Y-SBNT 22/26 (84.6%); TAU 20/27 (74.1%)]; follow-up rates were 77.4% at month 3 and 73.6% at month 12. Data for nine young people were missing at both months 3 and 12, so the main clinical outcome analysis was based on 24 young people (92.3%) in the Y-SBNT group and 20 young people (74.1%) in the TAU group. At month 12, the average proportion of days that the main problem substance was used in the preceding 90 days was higher in the Y-SBNT group than in the TAU group (0.54 vs. 0.41; adjusted mean difference 0.13, 95% confidence interval -0.12 to 0.39; p?=?0.30). No adverse events were reported. Seventeen young people with experience of substance misuse services were actively involved throughout the study. They informed key elements of the intervention and research process, ensuring that the intervention was acceptable and relevant to our target groups; contributing to the design of key trial documents, ideas for a new model of public involvement and this report. Two parents were also involved.

CONCLUSIONS: The adapted intervention could be delivered in young people's services, and qualitative interviews found that Y-SBNT was acceptable to young people, family members and staff. Engagement of family and network members proved difficult within the intervention and research aspects. The study proved the feasibility of this work in routine services but outcome measurement based on narrow substance use variables may be limited and may fail to capture other important changes in wider areas of functioning for young people. Validation of the EuroQol-5 Dimensions for young people aged 12-18 years should be considered and flexible models for involvement of young people in research are required to achieve inclusive representation throughout all aspects of the research process. Although recommendation of a full trial of the Y-SBNT intervention compared with TAU is not supported, this study can inform future intervention development and UK research within routine addiction services.
%N 15
%P 1-260
%V 21
%C Southampton
%D 2017
%I National Institute for Health Research
%L ndc27522

%A Aine Horgan
%A John Sweeney
%A Laura Behan
%A Geraldine McCarthy
%J Journal of Advanced Nursing
%T Depressive symptoms, college adjustment and peer support among undergraduate nursing and midwifery students.
%X AIM: This study aimed to identify levels of depressive symptoms, social and personal college adjustment and peer support among nursing and midwifery students.

BACKGROUND: Student mental health is of international concern, particularly among students who are undertaking professional qualifications in health care.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional design.
METHODS: Data were collected in 2013 using the Centre for Epidemiology Depressive Symptoms Scale, two subscales of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire; and a subscale of the Peer Support Evaluation Inventory with 417 students in Ireland.

RESULTS: Findings indicated that 34% of participants experienced depressive symptoms, 20% were poorly personally adjusted and 9% poorly socially adjusted. Most students had good levels of peer support. Statistically significant relationships were found between all key variables. Students in their second year of study had significantly higher rates of depressive symptoms. Participants who reported having poor relationships with their fathers were at higher risk and had more difficulties personally and socially adjusting to university life and study. The alcohol consumption of participants had a statistically significant relationship with depressive symptoms with higher consumption rates having a positive impact on symptoms.

CONCLUSION: The mental health of undergraduates undertaking professional healthcare studies needs to be a key research, educational and clinical priority. High rates of adjustment and mental health difficulties, particularly in the second year of the programme need to be examined and more effective interventions developed.
%N 12
%P 3081-3092
%V 72
%D 2016
%I Wiley
%L ndc26414

%A Yvonne Kelly
%A Alice Goisis
%A Amanda Sacker
%A Noriko Cable
%A Richard G Watt
%A Annie Britton
%J BMC Public Health
%T What influences 11-year-olds to drink? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study.
%X BACKGROUND: Drinking in youth is linked to other risky behaviours, educational failure and premature death. Prior research has examined drinking in mid and late teenagers, but little is known about the factors that influence drinking at the beginning of adolescence. Objectives were: 1. to assess associations of parental and friends' drinking with reported drinking among 11?year olds; 2. to investigate the roles of perceptions of harm, expectancies towards alcohol, parental supervision and family relationships on reported drinking among 11?year olds.

METHODS: Analysis of data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study on 10498 11-year-olds. The outcome measure was having drank an alcoholic drink, self-reported by cohort members.

RESULTS: 13.6?% of 11?year olds reported having drank. Estimates reported are odds ratios and 95?% confidence intervals. Cohort members whose mothers drank were more likely to drink (light/moderate?=?1.6, 1.3 to 2.0, heavy/binge?=?1.8, 1.4 to 2.3). Cohort members whose fathers drank were also more likely to drink but these estimates lost statistical significance when covariates were adjusted for (light/moderate?=?1.3, 0.9 to 1.9, heavy/binge?=?1.3, 0.9 to 1.9). Having friends who drank was strongly associated with cohort member drinking (4.8, 3.9 to 5.9). Associated with reduced odds of cohort member drinking were: heightened perception of harm from 1-2 drinks daily (some?=?0.9, 0.7 to 1.1, great?=?0.6, 0.5 to 0.7); and negative expectancies towards alcohol (0.5, 0.4 to 0.7). Associated with increased odds of cohort member drinking were: positive expectancies towards alcohol (1.9, 1.4 to 2.5); not being supervised on weekends and weekdays (often?=?1.2, 1.0 to 1.4); frequent battles of will (1.3, 1.1 to 1.5); and not being happy with family (1.2, 1.0 to 1.5).

CONCLUSIONS: Examining drinking at this point in the lifecourse has potentially important public health implications as around one in seven 11?year olds have drank, although the vast majority are yet to explore alcohol. Findings support interventions working at multiple levels that incorporate family and peer factors to help shape choices around risky behaviours including drinking.
%N 169
%P 169
%V 16
%D 2016
%I BioMed Central
%L ndc27676

%A Aisling McLaughlin
%A Tara O'Neill
%A Claire McCarten
%A Andy Percy
%A Mark McCann
%A Oliver Perra
%A Kathryn Higgins
%T Parental alcohol use and resilience in young people in Northern Ireland: a study of family, peer & school processes.
%C Belfast
%D 2016
%I HSC Research and Development Division, Public Health Agency
%L ndc25274

%A Alissa M Greer
%A Serena A Luchenski
%A Ashraf A Amlani
%A Katie Lacroix
%A Charlene Burmeister
%A Jane A Buxton
%J BMC Public Health
%T Peer engagement in harm reduction strategies and services: a critical case study and evaluation framework from British Columbia, Canada.
%X BACKGROUND: Engaging people with drug use experience, or 'peers,' in decision-making helps to ensure harm reduction services reflect current need. There is little published on the implementation, evaluation, and effectiveness of meaningful peer engagement. This paper aims to describe and evaluate peer engagement in British Columbia from 2010-2014.

METHODS: A process evaluation framework specific to peer engagement was developed and used to assess progress made, lessons learned, and future opportunities under four domains: supportive environment, equitable participation, capacity building and empowerment, and improved programming and policy. The evaluation was conducted by reviewing primary and secondary qualitative data including focus groups, formal documents, and meeting minutes.

RESULTS: Peer engagement was an iterative process that increased and improved over time as a consequence of reflexive learning. Practical ways to develop trust, redress power imbalances, and improve relationships were crosscutting themes. Lack of support, coordination, and building on existing capacity were factors that could undermine peer engagement. Peers involved across the province reviewed and provided feedback on these results.

CONCLUSION: Recommendations from this evaluation can be applied to other peer engagement initiatives in decision-making settings to improve relationships between peers and professionals and to ensure programs and policies are relevant and equitable.
%N 1
%P 452
%V 16
%D 2016
%I BioMed Central
%R DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3136-4
%L ndc25764

%A Amanda Fitzgerald
%A Jane Maguire
%A Barbara Dooley
%J Substance Use & Misuse
%T Substance misuse and behavioral adjustment problems in Irish adolescents: examining contextual risk and social proximal factors.
%X BACKGROUND
Using an ecological perspective to examine the roles of contextual factors and proximal social processes, the current study examined problem behavior among adolescents.

OBJECTIVE
The study examined how family, peer, and school processes mediate the relationship between cumulative contextual risk and problem behavior, and whether these mediating relationships are moderated by gender.

METHOD
Data were obtained from the My World Survey Second Level, a cross-sectional national survey assessing risk and protective factors of mental health among 6062 adolescents aged 12-19?years (M = 14.93, SD = 1.62). Using risk factors from socioeconomic, community, and family levels, a cumulative contextual risk index (CCRI) was created to identify adolescents at increased risk of problem behavior in Ireland. Conditional process analysis examined whether gender moderated the relationship between the CCRI and problem behaviors (alcohol behavior, poorer behavioral adjustment, and problematic substance use) as mediated by five proximal social variables, family cohesion, mother criticism, father criticism, peer connectedness, and school connectedness.

RESULTS
Using Hayes' (2013) SPSS macro for conditional process analyses, with age as a covariate, gender was shown to moderate the mediated relationships between CCRI and problem behaviors, via mother criticism and peer connectedness. Of note, a positive association was observed between high peer connectedness and alcohol risk behavior, highlighting the need to examine additional aspects of peer context including group norms and peer pressure.

CONCLUSION
The study provides valuable and practical implications for informing research, interventions, and social policy at family, peer, and school levels.
%N 13
%P 1790-1809
%V 51
%D 2016
%I Informa healthcare
%L ndc26022

%A Lucy Terry
%T Refreshing perspectives: exploring the application of peer research with populations facing severe and multiple disadvantage.
%X Part Two of a series of literature reviews on severe and multiple disadvantage.

Contents:
?	Introduction 	 
?	Key concepts in peer research 	 
?	Practical considerations of peer research 	 
?	Ethics in peer research: a theoretical underpinning and a practical consideration 	 
?	Conclusion: Where next for peer research?
%D 2016
%I Lankelly Chase
%L ndc25613

%A David Foxcroft
%A Maria Teresa Moreira
%A Nerissa ML Almeida Santimano
%A Lesley A Smith
%J Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
%T Social norms information for alcohol misuse in university and college students.
%V Issue 12
%D 2015
%C London
%R DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006748.pub4
%I John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
%L ndc23378

%A Janet Bright
%T Takes one to know one. An evaluation of peer mentoring in the drug dependency treatment sector.
%X Peer mentoring is defined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as ?the use of same age or same background educators to convey educational messages to a target group. Peer educators work by endorsing ?healthy? norms, beliefs and behaviours within their own peer group or ?community? and challenging those which are ?unhealthy?? (2002: 8). The primary focus of this study was to explore the views of the stakeholders in peer mentoring. Studies have rarely, if ever, focused on the perspective of the peer mentor, instead they have examined the impact on the mentee.

This study sought to build upon existing research into peer mentoring in the drug dependency treatment sector by exploring the perceived benefits and drawbacks of the intervention from the perspectives of peer mentors and service providers. To further understanding of peer mentoring in treatment for dependency, the following questions were asked: 
?	What are the benefits of peer mentoring as perceived by the mentor and service providers? 
?	What are the drawbacks of peer mentoring as perceived by the mentor and service providers? 
?	What added benefit does a peer mentor bring, as opposed to a non-peer mentor? 
?	Why do the parties involved think that mentoring is beneficial?
%C London
%D 2015
%I The Howard League for Penal Reform
%L ndc24565

%A Irene Moor
%A Katharina Rathmann
%A Michela Lenzi
%A Timo-Kolja Pf?rtner
%A Gera E Nagelhout
%A Margreet de Looze
%A Pernille Bendtsen
%A Marc Willemsen
%A Lasse Kannas
%A Anton E Kunst
%A Matthias Richter
%J European Journal of Public Health
%T Socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent smoking across 35 countries: a multilevel analysis of the role of family, school and peers.
%X BACKGROUND
Tobacco-related heath inequalities are a major public health concern, with smoking being more prevalent among lower socioeconomic groups. The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanisms leading to socioeconomic inequalities in smoking among 15-year-old adolescents by examining the mediating role of psychosocial factors in the peer group, family and school environment.

METHODS
Data were derived from the international WHO-collaborative 'Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC)' study 2005/2006, including 52 907 15-year-old students from 35 European and North American countries. Socioeconomic position was measured by the Family Affluence Scale. Multilevel logistic regression models were conducted to examine the contribution of family, school and peer factors in explaining the association between family affluence and weekly smoking.

RESULTS
Across countries, adolescents from low affluent families had an increased risk of weekly smoking (ORboys 1.14, confidence interval (CI) 1.05-1.23; ORgirls 1.36, CI 1.26-1.46) compared with adolescents from high affluent families. Family and school factors mediated the association between family affluence and smoking to a high extent up to 100% (boys) and 81% (girls) in joint analyses. The most important single factors were family structure, relationships with parents, academic achievement and school satisfaction. Peer factors did not mediate the association between family affluence and adolescent smoking.

CONCLUSION
The association between socioeconomic status and adolescent weekly smoking can largely be explained by an unequal distribution of family- and school-related factors. Focusing on the parent-adolescent relationship and adolescent school achievement can help to better understand inequalities in adolescent smoking behaviour.
%N 3
%P 457-63
%V 25
%D 2015
%L ndc23998

%T Peer support toolkit.
%X There is a strong tradition of peer support in the drug and alcohol field. The people involved go by various names ? recovery champions, buddies, peer mentors and more ? but the gist remains the same: that people themselves in recovery from drug and alcohol use can be authentic and effective voices in supporting others along their own journeys.

This toolkit brings together information for peer supporters and their managers.
%C London
%D 2015
%I Substance Misuse Skills Consortium
%L ndc23293

%A Paula Mayock
%A Jennifer Cronly
%A Michael C Clatts
%J Substance Use & Misuse
%T The risk environment of heroin initiation: young women, intimate partners, and ?drug relationships?.
%N 6
%P 771-782
%V 50
%D 2015
%I Informa healthcare
%L ndc23619

%A Michael T McKay
%J Substance Use & Misuse
%T Parental rules, parent and peer attachment, and adolescent drinking behaviors.
%X Family factors have been widely implicated in the development of adolescent drinking behaviors. These include parental attachment and parental rules concerning drinking behaviors. Moreover, throughout adolescence attachment to parents gives way to attachment to peers, and parental rules about alcohol use become less strict. The present study examined the relationship between parental and peer attachment, parental rules on drinking and alcohol use in a large sample (n = 1,724) of adolescents in the United Kingdom. Controlling for school grade (proxy for age), sex and the non-independence of respondents (clustering at school level) results showed that scores on a parental rules on drinking questionnaire were a significant statistical predictor when comparing moderate drinkers and abstainers, as well as moderate drinkers and problematic drinkers. Scores on both attachment scales were also significant, but only in the comparison between moderate and problematic drinkers, with lower attachment to parents and higher attachment to peers associated with problematic drinking.
%N 2
%P 184-188
%V 50
%D 2015
%I Informa healthcare
%L ndc22795

%A Tony Munton
%A Elaine Wedlock
%A Alan Gomersall
%T The efficacy and effectiveness of drug and alcohol abuse prevention programmes delivered outside of school settings.
%C Dublin
%D 2014
%I Health Research Board
%R HRB drug and alcohol evidence review 2
%L ndc23079

%T Facilitating access to mutual aid. Three essential stages for helping clients access appropriate mutual aid support.
%X Mutual aid groups are a source of structure and continuing support for people seeking recovery from alcohol or drug dependence, and for those directly or indirectly affected by dependence, such as partners, close friends, children and other family members. The evidence base shows that clients who actively participate in mutual aid are more likely to sustain their recovery, and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that treatment staff routinely provide information about mutual aid groups and facilitate access for those who want to attend (NICE, 2007; NICE, 2011; NICE, 2012). In working towards compliance with NICE quality standards, local commissioners and service providers will seek to ensure that facilitating access to mutual aid is supported within the local recovery system and that keyworkers recognise it as an integral part of their role.

Keyworkers must give thought to the way they approach the subject of mutual aid with their clients because the evidence shows that simply providing information and leaving them to make contact often results in them either never attending or quickly dropping out (Humphreys, 1999). A more active approach involves services promoting and hosting local meetings, holding explicit and structured conversations with clients, and setting care-planned goals around attending and engaging. Evidence shows that this kind of approach is usually more effective (Timko et al., 2006).

Some specialist interventions have been developed to help clients engage with specific mutual aid organisations (eg, 12-step facilitation, SMART Recovery Partnership programme and other structured programmes). However, these protocols require specialised training, which is usually delivered over eight to 12 weekly sessions in a group setting. This document provides keyworkers with a pragmatic intervention adapted from an evidence-based approach to facilitating access to mutual aid, using their existing skills in regular one-to-one key-work sessions. It focuses on holding explicit and structured conversations with clients, and setting care-planned goals around attending and engaging in mutual aid programmes.


About the mutual aid self-assessment tool:
This self-assessment tool has been developed to support local authority partnerships to improve their understanding of the availability of mutual aid locally, to identify any gaps that may exist and to highlight any potential barriers that may need to be overcome. The information gathered as a result of its undertaking will enable partnerships to develop a local action plan that ensures they are taking steps towards fostering effective links between treatment services and local mutual aid groups, and ensuring that all clients have the opportunity and encouragement to access a mutual aid programme of their choice.

It is suggested that local commissioners of alcohol and drug services lead on this mutual aid self-assessment. The quality of the self-assessment is likely to be enhanced by completing it in close collaboration with local treatment providers, service user representatives and where possible representatives of local mutual aid groups.

[Also see related publication at the link below]
%C London
%D 2013
%I Public Health England
%L ndc21091

%T A briefing on the evidence-based drug and alcohol treatment guidance recommendations on mutual aid.
%X Mutual Aid refers to the social, emotional and informational support provided by, and to, members of a group at every stage of recovery. Groups often include people who are abstinent and want help to remain so ? these people are actively changing their behaviour using a programme of mutual aid. They also include people who are thinking about stopping and/or actively trying to stop their drug and alcohol use. Groups also exist to support families, children and friends affected by substance misuse. 

The most common mutual aid groups in England include 12-step fellowships and SMART Recovery. The fellowships (eg, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA) and Al-Anon) are based on a 12-step selfhelp philosophy developed in the 1930s. SMART Recovery applies cognitive behavioural techniques and therapeutic lifestyle change to its mutual aid groups to help people manage their recovery.

The role played by mutual aid in promoting and sustaining recovery from drug and alcohol problems has already been examined by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Recovery Orientated Drug Treatment Expert Group (RODT) and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). This briefing aims to bring these existing findings and recommendations on mutual aid together to increase their visibility and accessibility for the alcohol and drug treatment field.
%C London
%D 2013
%I Public Health England
%L ndc21090

%T Briefing paper 3: mutual aid.
%X The briefing papers will provide:
1. a short overview of the topic, produced with input from an expert
2. links to the best evidence-based research and findings from the Skills Hub, the Drug and Alcohol Research Matrices and elsewhere
3. a wider resources section which contains less formal materials such as toolkits, news articles and videos.

Mutual aid is typically provided outside formal treatment agencies and is one of the most commonly travelled pathways to recovery. Mutual aid groups come in many different types, with the most widely provided being based on 12-Step principles, for example Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous. Other forms include SMART Recovery, Intuitive Recovery and locally derived peer support networks. 

Engagement in peer-support for those in recovery can be encouraged by practitioners looking to help change behaviour and improve outcomes. NICE clearly recommends that the benefits of these groups can be further enhanced if keyworkers and other staff in services facilitate contact with them, for example by making an initial appointment, arranging transport or possibly accompanying patients to the first meeting and dealing with any subsequent concerns. These interventions can be of benefit to a wide range of people at different levels of the care and treatment system.
%C London
%D 2013
%I Substance Misuse Skills Consortium
%L ndc21624

%T Turning evidence into practice. Helping clients to access and engage with mutual aid.
%X Mutual aid improves drug and alcohol treatment and its recovery orientation, say NICE (2007 & 2011) and the report of the Recovery Orientated Drug Treatment expert group (2012). Treatment providers and keyworkers who actively help service users to access and engage with mutual aid are likely to see better outcomes.

?Mutual aid? refers to members of a group who give each other social, emotional and informational support at every stage during their recovery from drug or alcohol dependence. They can include people who are thinking about stopping their drug or alcohol use, or those who want to stay stopped.
%C London
%D 2013
%I Public Health England
%L ndc19161

%J Effectiveness Bank Bulletin
%T Effectiveness Bank Bulletin [Social network effects in alcohol consumption among adolescents].
%X Social network effects in alcohol consumption among adolescents.
Ali M.M., Dwyer D.S. Addictive Behaviors: 2010, 35, p. 337?342.

Is the peer influence on which many substance use prevention programmes are based an illusion due to other factors like pupils sharing similar environments or choosing like-minded friends? Not entirely, finds this unusually rigorous US analysis; the chances of a given child drinking rise by 4% for every 10% more of their school year-mates who drink.

Summary 
Presumptions about the influence of friends and peers on the substance use of young people lie at the heart of important approaches to preventing substance use. However, estimating the strength of this influence is complicated by the tendency for youngsters to choose like-minded friends, meaning that the causal relation is reversed ? young drinkers choosing for example to befriend other young drinkers rather than being influenced to take up drinking by their friends. Another type of complicating factor are shared influences which might affect both the focal child's drinking and that of their friends, creating the illusion that one is causally related to the other. An example might be the areas they live in and the schools they attend. Unless these confounding factors are controlled for, we risk basing prevention programmes on mistaken estimates about the influence of peers. The featured analysis sought to refine these estimates by as far as possible eliminating other influences.

Data for the analysis came from the 1994 wave of a national US study of adolescent health conducted in 132 schools between grades 7 and 12. The children were asked how often they had drunk in the past year, enabling the study to assess what proportion were drinkers and how frequently on average they drank. Just over 20,000 of the pupils (they averaged 15 years of age) were not just surveyed in schools but also interviewed in their homes where their parents too were interviewed, yielding information which could help eliminate influences which might bias the estimate of the influence of peers.

Another major advantage of the survey was that it gathered information about two differently constructed sources of peer influence. The first came from asking the young people to name their five closest male and five closest female friends. Since these friends were usually also surveyed, it was possible to assess the extent of their drinking and in turn assess how this might have influenced the focal child. However, these estimates were vulnerable to reverse causality ? similar peers gravitating towards each other. This was not the case for the second source of peer influence assessed by the analysis ? the drinking of the other children in the same grade of the child's school, an influence particularly relevant to school-based prevention programmes which operate on whole classes and grades in a school. For both sources of influence the analysis assessed the possible impact on the focal child of the proportion of their peers who drank at all and of the average intensity of their drinking.
%C London
%D 2013
%I Drug and Alcohol Findings
%L ndc19896
%V 8 May 2013

%A Karen McElrath
%A Julie Harris
%J Journal of Substance Use
%T Peer injecting: implications for injecting order and blood-borne viruses among men and women who inject heroin.
%X A large body of research has highlighted practices and rituals that characterise injecting drug use and behavioural and environmental risks that can contribute to the transmission of blood-borne viruses. Compared with other injecting practices, considerably less is known about peer injecting, i.e. receiving or giving injections, particularly the social context in which it occurs. 

In this article, we explore peer injecting and injecting order at initiation into injecting drug user (IDU) and during subsequent injection episodes. Using data from semi-structured interviews, we highlight the experiences of 41 males and females who had received injections from other IDUs. Respondents were recruited through various strategies, largely chain referral. The results suggest gendered similarities as well as differences in terms of peer injecting, the order of injection and micro-risk contexts for blood-borne viruses.
%N 1
%P 31-45
%V 18
%D 2013
%I Informa healthcare
%R doi:10.3109/14659891.2012.716901
%L ndc19318

%T Action plan on bullying. Report of the Anti-Bullying Working Group to the Minister for Education and Skills.
%X P.33. Self harm and suicidal behaviour 
The National Office for Suicide Prevention reports that Ireland has the fourth highest rate of youth suicide in Europe49 (based on 2009 data) and the National Suicide Research Foundation reports that in 2010 1,198 young people, aged 19 and under, were treated in hospital as a result of deliberate self-harm.50 It should be noted that many incidents of self-harm and suicidal behaviour are not reported.

Self-harm and suicidal behaviour are often closely related and some studies have found that repeated self-harm can be a predictor of suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England includes a section on preventing suicide following self-harm. The risk-factors for self-harm are quite similar to those for suicidal behaviour and include psychological, biological, social and environmental factors and factors related to personal history. 

The trigger for self-harm and suicidal behaviour can be an unfortunate event, such as a relationship breakdown, interpersonal problem or financial difficulty. Depression or other psychiatric disorders, affiliations with deviant peer groups, binge drinking, and being victimised by violence or bullying, can also be important associated contributing factors.

Research by McMahon et al identifies other factors associated with self-harm for both genders as drug use and knowing a friend who had engaged in self-harm.

P.35 Impact on individuals who engage in bullying behaviour 
There are consequences also for individuals who engage in bullying behaviour. Children who become involved in such behaviour are also at risk of depression. Indeed, it has been claimed that the greatest risk of suicidal thoughts was detected amongst youngsters who bullied. 

Some of the possible long-term consequences associated with bullying others include: an increased risk of developing an anti-social personality; anxiety disorders; a likelihood of drug abuse and lawbreaking behaviour in adulthood; decreased educational and occupational attainment; and an aggressive parenting style...
%C Dublin
%D 2013
%I Department of Education and Skills
%L ndc19225

%A Elaine M McMahon
%A Paul Corcoran
%A Helen Keeley
%A Ivan J Perry
%A Ella Arensman
%J Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior
%T Adolescents exposed to suicidal behavior of others: prevalence of self-harm and associated psychological, lifestyle, and life event factors.
%X Exposure to suicidal behavior of others was examined among 3,881 Irish adolescents in the Child and Adolescent Self-harm in Europe (CASE) study. One third of the sample had been exposed to suicidal behavior, and exposed adolescents were eight times more likely to also report own self-harm. Exposed adolescents shared many risk factors with those reporting own self-harm. Those reporting both exposure and own self-harm presented the most maladaptive profile on psychological, life event, and lifestyle domains, but neither anxiety nor depression distinguished this group. Exposed adolescents are burdened by a wide range of risk factors and in need of support.
%N 6
%P 634-645
%V 43
%D 2013
%L ndc21056

%T Routes to recovery via the community. Mapping user manual.
%X Introduction: Outline of the manual; pages 3-8
Chapter One: Techniques and tools to enhance assessment and build a plan for recovery; pages 9-49
Chapter Two: Setting, achieving and rewarding goals; pages 50-56
Chapter Three Building social support for change; pages 57-70
Chapter Four: Providing information to reduce harm; pages 71-77
Chapter Five: Skills development; pages 78-93
Chapter Six: Exiting treatment and aftercare; pages 94-104
%C London
%D 2013
%I Public Health England
%L ndc20391

%A Leighann Ryan
%A Marie Claire Van Hout
%A Michelle Foley
%J Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education
%T A social norms approach to drug prevention in schools in Ireland-a pre development study.
%N 2
%P 27-46
%V 57
%D 2013
%I American Alcohol & Drug Information Foundation
%L ndc20263

%J Effectiveness Bank Bulletin
%T Effectiveness Bank Bulletin [Positive psychology]
%X 1. Review of the application of positive psychology to substance use, addiction, and recovery research.
Krentzman A.R. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors: 2012, in press.

The contemporary recovery movement in addictions and the positive psychology movement in the broader field of psychological health have recently grown in prominence but almost entirely in parallel streams, yet the overlaps and possible synergies between them suggest that an integration could be a step forward in recovery from addiction. 


2. Applying positive psychology to alcohol-misusing adolescents: a group intervention.
Akhtar M., Boniwell I. Groupwork: 2010, 20(3), p. 6?31.

Conducted in England, this first study to test positive psychology approaches focused on strengths and wellbeing in the treatment of substance use problems found that a small group of young drinkers and drug users responded well, with substantial remission in alcohol dependence despite the non-substance focus of the group therapy.
%D 2012
%I Drug and Alcohol Findings
%L ndc18669
%V 22 Oct

%A Michael T McKay
%A Jon C Cole
%J Drugs: Education Prevention and Policy
%T The relationship between alcohol use and peer pressure
susceptibility, peer popularity and general conformity in
Northern Irish school children.
%X This cross-sectional study investigated the bivariate and more fully controlled (with socio-demographic measures) relationship between self-reported drinking behaviour and peer pressure susceptibility, desire for peer popularity and general conformity in a sample of 11?16-year-old school children in Northern Ireland. 

Self-reported drinking behaviour was assessed using a composite measure of drinking behaviour, the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (Mayer, J., & Filstead, W.J. (1979). The adolescent alcohol involvement scale. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 40, 291?300). Post-primary (High) schools in the Greater Belfast Area were targeted and 629 participants were recruited of whom 610 (97%) successfully completed a set of questionnaires. Bivariate and more fully controlled regression analyses revealed that problematic alcohol use was predicted by higher peer pressure susceptibility, lower desire for popularity and lower general conformity. More problematic drinking was also predicted by being in Middle versus Junior school, and by being female. Despite the suggestion that alcohol use among adolescents is normative behaviour, these results suggest that increasing levels of drinking, assessed by a composite measure are associated with the social risk factors assessed, namely greater susceptibility to peer pressure, less conformity and lower levels of desire for peer popularity.
%N 3
%P 213-222
%V 19
%D 2012
%I Informa healthcare
%L ndc16652

%A Anthony Goodman
%A Rachel Hurcombe
%A Jane Healy
%A Sue Goodman
%A Emma Ball
%T Teenage drinking and interethnic friendships.
%X This report explores the links between young people's interethnic friendships and their drinking patterns and behaviours. 

Britain is a multicultural society, but little is currently known about if, and how, young people mix with friends from different ethnic backgrounds and the potential impact of this on drinking attitudes and behaviours. Research was undertaken to examine these links using quantitative and qualitative methods among a sample of 14- and 15-year-olds in diverse locations in London and Berkshire. The report:
?	explores the intra- and interethnic mix of young people?s friendship groups as described by young people in questionnaires and interviews;
?	analyses how drinking patterns vary by ethnicity, religion and gender;
?	investigates the links between young people?s background characteristics, their friendship groups (including the ethnicity of friends) and their reported drinking rates; and
?	looks at the implications of the findings, including recommendations for harm reduction based on education and peer support programmes.
%C London
%D 2011
%I Joseph Rowntree Foundation
%L ndc15202

%A Trutz Haase
%A Jonathan Pratschke
%J Youth Studies Ireland
%T Risk and protection factors for substance use among young people. A comparative study of early school-leavers and school-attending students.
%X Summary of a report commissioned by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs.
%N 2
%P 1-9
%V 6
%D 2011
%I Irish Youth Work Press
%L ndc20807

%A Christian Herbert
%A Cara Fennelly
%T Fact or fiction: a study of attitudes to alcohol and related issues among young people in the Ballymun area.
%X A Questionnaire was developed to engage young people from the ages of 12-18 on their attitudes to alcohol in the Ballymun area. The purpose of this research was to determine if attitudes are different according to age group. Questions ranged from opinions on public drinking, peer pressure and relationships with parents/guardians. The study groups were divided into three categories. It was clear that the 12/13 year age group overall were still at the stage where they agreed that drinking alcohol was against the law for young people, they were at times quiet
judgemental and used either stereotypes or education to influence their answers.

While the 14-16 year age group were at the stage where drinking alcohol was seen to them as the norm and their answers very much reflected on their social life and their friends, they were not looking at consequences and saw no harm in the activity. The 17/18 year age group were at a reflective stage and at times their answers were quite similar to the 12/13 year olds, this time using life experience/education, they were starting to look at consequences. This research has shown that there are significant changes in attitudes to alcohol among young people; the 12/13 year olds not having a vested interest, to the 14/16 year olds at the stage of experimenting, to the 17/18 year olds now assessing their use. A number of recommendations are given based on the findings.
%C Dublin
%D 2011
%I Ballymun Youth Action Project
%L ndc16441

%A Martin Keane
%J Drugnet Ireland
%T Commentary on NACD study on risk and protective factors for substance use.
%D 2011
%I Health Research Board
%P 19
%L ndc14702
%V Issue 36, Winter 2010

%A Martin Keane
%J Drugnet Ireland
%T The social norms approach to tackling substance use.
%D 2011
%I Health Research Board
%P 16-17
%L ndc15646
%V Issue 38, Summer 2011

%A Jean Long
%A Martin Keane
%J Drugnet Ireland
%T NACD study on risk and protective factors for substance use among young people.
%D 2011
%I Health Research Board
%P 16-18
%L ndc14701
%V Issue 36, Winter 2010

%A Andrew Percy
%A Joanne Wilson
%A Claire McCartan
%A Patrick McCrystal
%T Teenage drinking cultures
%X This report investigates the onset and development of drinking behaviours within teenage friendship groups.
%C York
%D 2011
%I Joseph Rowntree Foundation
%L ndc14639

%A Marie Claire Van Hout
%J Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education
%T Peer and universal drug prevention in Ireland: food for thought.
%X I am writing to the Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education to present results from a regional study investigating prevalence of substance use among 12 Irish secondary schools in the North Eastern region of Ireland: Counties Louth, Monaghan, Cavan and Meath. 6 of these schools received peer education, as adjunct to the universal national drug education curriculum, Social Personal and Health Education, (SPHE). 

The research aimed to present regional youth substance prevalence data for the Regional Drug Task Force Data Coordination unit. However, some interesting differences emerged between schools receiving peer education funded by the Drug Task Force and those schools did not. The letter also wishes to draw attention to the current lack of peer education program quality assurance and outcome evaluations in Ireland, with an increasing amount of freelance companies offering peer education (Substance Use Peer Education Responses Program (SUPER), Hands on Peer Education (HOPE), Peer Education Program (PEP), Positive Youth Education (PYE), and DAP, Cross Care) often funded by local and regional Drugs Task Forces. A systematic review of the National Documentation Centre on Drug Use databases yielded no peer education evaluations conducted to date in Ireland.
%N 2
%P 8-13
%V 55
%D 2011
%I American Alcohol & Drug Information Foundation
%L ndc15860

%T Good practice guidelines for peer led family support groups.
%X 1.	Introduction
2.	Starting a peer led family support group
3.	Providing support in a group
4.	Facilitation
5.	Seeking external support
6.	Setting up a family support network
Appendix A: Governance
Appendix B: Steering group members 
Appendix C: Source documents
%C Dublin
%D 2010
%I Family Support Network
%L ndc13002

%T Coolmine Therapeutic Communities. Helping people help themselves: annual report 2008.
%X Therapeutic Communities (TC) are designed to foster change and positive growth in their clients, emphasising group work and the taking of personal responsibility within a highly structured environment. The focus is on offering a holistic approach to dealing with addiction which means that in addition to dealing with the person in recovery, support is also provided for their friends and family thereby creating a strong social network to help them succeed.

Coolmine is the oldest therapeutic community in Ireland with over 35 years providing services for drug and alcohol addiction throughout Ireland.
%C Dublin
%D 2010
%I Coolmine Therapeutic Community
%L ndc13442

%A Robbie Gilligan
%A Philip Curry
%A Judy McGrath
%A Derek Murphy
%A Muireann N? Raghallaigh
%A Margaret Rogers
%A Jennifer Jean Scholtz,
%A Aoife Gilligan Quinn
%O Published by the Children?s Research Centre, Trinity College in association with the Trinity Immigration Initiative Children, Youth and Community Relations Project.
%T In the front line of integration: young people managing migration to Ireland.
%X Executive Summary
??This research aimed to find out what life is like for young people aged 15 to 18 who have migrated to Ireland.
??169 migrant young people from sites purposefully selected across the county took part in open-ended focus group discussions. Although not formally representative, the results give us a flavour of the views that may be found among migrant youth living in Ireland today. It is the first national study of its kind.
??The young people we spoke to faced many challenges dealing with differences between life in Ireland and the life they had known prior to migration. These differences existed in many areas such as how older and younger generations are expected to relate, rules and expectations for students in school and how people interact with one another socially. Each young person had to find their own way, day in day out, of adjusting to these challenges.

Friendships
??Friendships with local Irish young people were valued. These were also a useful means of acquiring language and accent. However experiences were mixed with some finding it easy to make friends locally, others finding it difficult, and others not particularly wanting it.
??Barriers to friendships with local Irish young people included perceived differences in cultural background, language and accent, differences in educational and life experience, racism and differences in attitude towards education, authority, religion and alcohol.
??Many migrant young people are unfamiliar with the ?slagging? (mostly friendly trading in insults) which is common currency among local Irish young people and some struggle to understand and adjust to it. ?Slagging? is often harmless, but at times it can be a vehicle for more genuine hostility.
%C Dublin
%D 2010
%I Children's Research Centre
%L ndc16072

%A Trutz Haase
%A Jonathan Pratschke
%T Risk and protection factors for substance use among young  people: a comparative study of early school-leavers and school-attending students.
%X This report presents the results of a study of substance use among young people in Ireland based on information collected in 2008 during face-to-face interviews with 991 people, aged between 15 and 18. The target population comprised school-attending students and young people who, having left school, were attending either a Youthreach centre for education or F?S Community Training Centre. This latter population is described in this study as ?early school-leavers? and represents approximately 12% of the full annual cohort of early school-leavers.
%C Dublin
%D 2010
%I Stationery Office
%L ndc14100

%A Elaine M McMahon
%A U Reulbach
%A Helen Keeley
%A Ivan J Perry
%A Ella Arensman
%J Social Science & Medicine
%T Bullying victimisation, self harm and associated factors in Irish adolescent boys.
%X School bullying victimisation is associated with poor mental health and self harm. However, little is known about the lifestyle factors and negative life events associated with victimisation, or the factors associated with self harm among boys who experience bullying. The objectives of the study were to examine the prevalence of bullying in Irish adolescent boys, the association between bullying and a broad range of risk factors among boys, and factors associated with self harm among bullied boys and their non-bullied peers. 

Analyses were based on the data of the Irish centre of the Child and Adolescent Self Harm in Europe (CASE) study (boys n = 1870). Information was obtained on demographic factors, school bullying, deliberate self harm and psychological and lifestyle factors including negative life events. In total 363 boys (19.4%) reported having been a victim of school bullying at some point in their lives. The odds ratio of lifetime self harm was four times higher for boys who had been bullied than those without this experience. The factors that remained in the multivariate logistic regression model for lifetime history of bullying victimisation among boys were serious physical abuse and self esteem. 

Factors associated with self harm among bullied boys included psychological factors, problems with schoolwork, worries about sexual orientation and physical abuse, while family support was protective against self harm. Our findings highlight the mental health problems associated with victimisation, underlining the importance of anti-bullying policies in schools. Factors associated with self harm among boys who have been bullied should be taken into account in the identification of boys at risk of self harm.
%N 7
%P 1300-1307
%V 71
%D 2010
%L ndc17921

%A Juul Mulder
%A Tom ter Bogt
%A Quinten AW Raaijmakers
%A Saoirse Nic Gabhainn
%J Journal of Adolescence
%T Is it the music? Peer substance use as a mediator of the link between music preferences and adolescent substance use.
%X Both music preferences and the substance use behavior of peers are important elements in explaining adolescent substance use. The extent to which music preference and peer use overlap in explaining adolescent substance use remains to be determined. A nationally representative sample of 7324 Dutch school-going adolescents (aged 12?16) provided data on music preferences, substance use behaviors and perceived number of peers using substances. Factor analyses showed that preferences for eight music genres factored into four styles: Pop (chart music, Dutch pop), Adult (classical music, jazz), Urban (rap/hiphop, soul/R&B) and Hard (punk/hardcore, techno/hardhouse); substance use was indicated by smoking, drinking, and cannabis use. Structural equation modeling revealed that the relationship between music preference and substance use was either wholly or partially mediated by perceived peer use. Music can model substance use and fans of different types of music may select friends with use patterns that reinforce their own substance use inclinations.
%P 387-394
%V 33
%D 2010
%I Elsevier
%L ndc17979