The relative importance of factors which influence order of injecting with a shared needle and syringe.

Injecting drug users (IDUs) in Adelaide, South Australia, rated the likelihood of first use of a shared needle and syringe by persons who have characteristics which have previously been suggested as influencing order of injecting. This enabled the relative importance of these factors to be assessed. It was found that those who supply their own drug and injecting equipment have the greatest likelihood of using first, but it is also somewhat advantageous if one is able to promote one's needs, has recently been tested for HIV or is at home when the opportunity to inject arises. Older IDUs and regular users may be slightly advantaged, as may those who inject others and those who were denied first use the last time sharing occurred. A model for predicting order of use is proposed.

Deciding to risk it: toward a multivariate model of unsafe injecting behavior.

This paper reports on a set of studies which sought to explain why Australian injecting drug users (IDUs) continue to share injecting equipment despite the provision of needles and syringes, drug treatment, education programs, and HIV testing. A range of situational and psychological factors were implicated in risk-taking, and these are integrated into a theoretical model which reflects the decision-making processes that occur when IDUs decide to take a risk.

The Drinker's Partner Distress Scale: an instrument for measuring the distress caused by drinkers to their partners.

Although it is generally accepted that the spouses of excessive drinkers experience a range of problems as a result of their partner's alcohol consumption, there have been few attempts at measuring the hardship experienced. Previous attempts have counted only the number of categories of hardship experienced over the previous year and not taken into account the frequency with which these occur or the degree of inconvenience suffered. The Drinker's Partner Distress Scale (DPDS) is proposed as a measure which overcomes these limitations. Two dimensions of alcohol-induced problems are measured; depression and marital discord. Both subscales demonstrated internal consistency, and predictions of convergent and discriminant validity were supported in relation to both subscales.

The 'pressures to change' approach to working with the partners of heavy drinkers.

The 'Pressures to Change' approach to working with the partners of drinkers is a structured procedure for promoting change in resistant drinkers. In this study 22 women and one man were randomly allocated to two treatment conditions and one no-treatment waiting list control condition in an experimental evaluation of the procedure. Group 1 was treated individually and Group 2 was treated as a group. Almost two-thirds of the drinking partners of clients in treatment made a significant move towards change, compared with none of the drinkers in the waiting list control condition.

The effects of alcohol abuse on children and the partner's capacity to initiate change.

This paper identifies the social, psychological and cognitive effects of parental alcohol abuse on children across the lifecycle. While the evidence regarding cognitive effects is mixed, there is ample evidence of negative effects on a range of developmental outcomes. Recent advances in unilateral partner interventions open up one avenue for ameliorating this damage even when the drinker is resistant to change.

Predictors of unsafe injecting drug use.

This paper reports on the incidence of unsafe injecting and the factors which influence this practice in a sample of 1245 Sydney injecting drug users (IDUs). Using a needle and syringe after someone else at some time in the last six months was reported in 41.6% of the sample. Taking into account those who claimed always to clean used needles with virucidal methods, 32.9% had placed themselves at risk of HIV infection from shared needles in the six months prior to interview.Seven factors were predictive of unsafe behaviour. These were (a) the amount spent per week on drugs, (b) the number of times a single needle was used prior to disposal, (c) having shared with a person who is now HIV infected, (d) having a regular sexual partner, (e) the proportion of times high, stoned or drunk when injecting, (f) being part of a group that injects together and (g) having been in prison.

Injecting drug users and HIV/AIDS: risk behaviours and risk perception.

This paper reports on the incidence of risk taking behaviours, and the relationship between risk perception and risk behaviours in a sample of 1245 Sydney injecting drug users (IDUs). Almost all respondents reported engaging in behaviours that placed them at risk of HIV infection: 32.9% through unsafe injecting, 84.4% because of unsafe sexual behaviour and 89.2% because of either injecting or sexual behaviour. Injecting and sexual behaviour were poorly correlated. This study also found that risk perception is unrelated to injecting or sexual behaviours, previous history of sexually transmitted diseases, a range of demographic characteristics including age and gender, and the number of times tested for HIV. Social policy and prevention programs should aim to change unsafe injecting and sexual behaviours directly, rather than attempting to achieve change indirectly by changing risk perception.