PTSD Treatment-Seeking Among Rural Latino Combat Veterans: A Review of the Literature

Latino combat soldiers report both higher prevalence and greater overall severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms than non-Hispanic Caucasians. However, these veterans face unique social and cultural barriers to accessing treatment for PTSD that distinguish them from their non-Hispanic white counterparts. Latino veterans who reside in rural settings face additional socio-cultural and structural impediments, in that they are likely to reside far from VA (Veterans Administration) medical facilities, have limited access to public transportation, and hold more conservative views toward mental health treatment than those residing in urban locales. However, little is known about the unique individual, sociocultural, and structural barriers to treatment faced by rural Latino veterans. This paper synthesizes the separate mental health and treatment-seeking literatures pertaining to Latinos, rural populations, and veterans, with the goal of identifying fruitful areas of conceptual overlap, and providing direction for future theory building, research, and targeted interventions

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Women, alcohol and work: Interactions of gender, ethnicity and occupational culture

Patterns of alcohol use are affected by culture and history and intertwined with the rhythms of work life. The 20th century economic shift toward industrial and service jobs coupled with the increasing presence of women in the workplace has revolutionized U.S. women's domestic and public roles [1], and these changes have impacted their drinking behavior [2]. In addition, in a multicultural society like the United States, subcultures, ethnic groups, socioeconomic classes, and even job categories have their own sets of gendered drinking norms. Patterns of alcohol use among women can be better understood with consideration of intricate interactions among gender, ethnicity, class, employment, and alcohol consumption. Stepping up to the need to learn more about these factors, we have reviewed literature about ethnic, class, occupational, and gender influences on women's workplace-related drinking. This report on that review will show both the complexity of the phenomenon and the inconsistent, incomplete nature of existing information, as well as pointing out directions for future research. We begin with a general discussion of women and workplace drinking.

Heavy and problem drinking in an American blue-collar population: Implications for prevention

This paper presents the findings of a prevention-oriented research project designed to identify the familial and socio-environmental precursors of heavy drinking in a blue-collar population. Using an ethnographic and primarily qualitative approach to data collection, this study examines alcohol use and drinking behavior in relation to both the family as a unit, as well as the sociocultural context in which it is embedded. It reports primarily on features of cultural, workplace, and community environments that are related to heavy or moderate drinking in the subject population. The sample consists of 30 families, 15 where the father is a heavy drinker and 15 where he is a moderate drinker. The sample was drawn from the workforce of a large manufacturing plant that closed in 1982. The social organization of the workplace, including the important factors of job alienation, job stress, inconsistent social controls, and the evolution of a 'drinking culture', is implicated by this research to be the primary vehicle for promoting high levels of alcohol use. Although the role of the workplace in encouraging certain alcohol behaviors was predominant, the data suggest that it alone may not be sufficient for causing alcohol problems. In particular, the central importance of drinking in work-related social contexts and the relative permissiveness of the work environment was found to promote heavy drinking among individuals who were of sociocultural backgrounds where heavy drinking was permitted or even encouraged; reported a lack of effective male role models when growing up; and restricted leisure activities to male-oriented peer groupd most often met through work-related contexts. Conversely factors that appeared protective of developing high-risk drinking patterns were family religious involvement, and participation of fathers in non-work related social groups that usually involved their wives and children. We conclude the paper by offering suggestions as to how these findings might lead to constructive strategies for the primary prevention of alcohol problems in the context of the workplace and community.alcohol North American prevention blue-collar

Anthropological perspectives on alcohol and drugs at the turn of the new millennium

This introduction to the collection provides our thoughts on where alcohol and drug studies in anthropology are going as we enter the new millennium. After commenting briefly on each of the papers that comprise the rest of the volume, we discuss what we see as the most important and exciting issues in the future and give our views on what alcohol and drug studies can offer to medical anthropology, anthropology writ large, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, and the realm of public policy and practical affairs. We call for a continued study by anthropologists of the whole array of pharmacologically active substances used by humans in different parts of the world, whether or not such studies are situated within medical anthropology. We note that many of these substances have received little attention from anthropologists to date, quite strikingly so in the cases of substances such as marijuana and methamphetamines. We emphasize that most scholars working in the anthropology of alcohol and drugs are concerned with the application of their findings to social problems, and we note that this has been especially true of research on alcoholic beverages and injection drugs. This leads us to a discussion of anthropology's involvement in public health intervention and policy work in a variety of settings. Such involvement is shown to have informed anthropological theory (notably political economic approaches) and to have enriched the methodological toolkits and forms of data analysis anthropologists use. Perhaps more importantly, we argue that such multidisciplinary involvement in applied work is most likely to eventuate in theoretical progress in alcohol and drug studies, since theory in the social sciences is not bound to singular disciplinary approaches. Thus we advocate for a "hybrid vigor" in this specialty area in the years ahead.Alcohol Drugs Theory Methods Anthropology

Physical and social availability of alcohol for young enlisted naval personnel in and around home port

Abstract Background Heavy alcohol consumption rates are higher in the young adult military enlisted population than among civilians of the same age. The literature on alcohol availability, both generally and specifically with respect to work-related drinking, establishes clear links between ease of access, alcohol consumption rates and alcohol-related problems. Methods In this paper, a qualitative analysis of 50 semi-structured interviews with U.S. Navy personnel was combined with quantitative findings from a mail survey of 713 young enlisted men and women in order to shed light on alcohol availability and its correlates in the home port environments of young adult enlisted personnel. The interviews were analyzed by two anthropologists seeking recurring themes or topics related to alcohol availability. These qualitative data were contextualized by descriptive statistics of the survey responses regarding ease of obtaining alcohol on and around naval bases, and from friends in and out of the Navy. Results Findings associated with social and physical availability of alcohol include low prices in Navy Exchange base stores, frequent barracks parties, drink promotions in bars surrounding bases, and multiple opportunities for underage drinking despite age limits on alcohol purchases and official efforts to deglamorize alcohol use in the Navy. Both qualitative and qualitative findings suggest that respondents found alcohol and opportunities to drink overwhelmingly available in both on-base and off-base settings, and from friends both in and out of the Navy. Conclusion There is qualitative and quantitative evidence for extensive physical and social availability of alcohol in and around bases for young adults in the military. Policy implications include raising the presently tax-free alcohol prices in base stores and enforcing existing policies regarding underage drinking, particularly the provision of alcohol by people of legal drinking age, and by bars in and around bases. Cooperative preventive efforts with surrounding communities also offer promising ways for bases to reduce alcohol availability for young adult servicemembers.</p