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Rising trends in alcohol consumption and early drinking initiation pose serious health risks especially for adolescents. Learner’s prior knowledge about alcohol gained from the social surroundings and the media are important sources that can impact the learning outcomes in health education. The purpose of this paper is to map adolescents’ perceptions of alcohol in Punjab, India and how these perceptions are related to their attitudes towards their social surroundings and the media.

The questionnaire was created after informal discussions with local people who consume alcohol and discussions with alcohol-related experts. Students from five schools (n=379, average age=13.6 years) in the urban region of Punjab, India, filled in a questionnaire. Quantitative tests were performed on the questionnaire data. Summative content analysis was performed for the textbook content about alcohol from classes 1 to 10.

Data suggest that students gain knowledge about alcohol from multiple sources, including society, the media and education. While society and the media can give misinformation, education did not provide them with factual scientific information about alcohol. Students from financially marginalized social surroundings experience the presence and use of alcohol more frequently; they trust the media and celebrities somewhat unquestioningly and, hence, are more at-risk.

All participants in informal discussions as well as all participating schools in the study were from urban regions. Data about individual’s socio-economic conditions was not collected.

This research investigates perceptions of alcohol that are derived from adolescents’ social surroundings, perceptions of the media and perceptions gained through educational guidance in a developing country. Such multi-dimensional investigations have not been conducted earlier.

No studies have evaluated the relationship between cognitive impairment and alcohol treatment outcomes amongst older drinkers. This study aims to explore the extent of cognitive impairment amongst older adults seeking alcohol treatment and examine the relationship between cognitive impairment, treatment retention and alcohol use following treatment.

The study used data from the Drink Wise Age Well programme; an alcohol intervention service for older adults (aged 50+). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment was used to screen for cognitive impairment; alcohol use was assessed using the alcohol use disorders identification test.

In total, 531 participants completed the assessment at treatment entry. Over half the sample were male (57%), with a mean age of 60 years (Standard deviation: 7.09). Almost half (48.4%) had cognitive impairment at the entry to treatment: 51.6% had a normal cognitive function, 41.4% had mild cognitive impairment, 5.8% had moderate cognitive impairment and 1.1% had severe cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment was not associated with increased treatment drop-out and was not predictive of alcohol use following treatment. Alcohol treatment was associated with a significant improvement in cognitive functioning.

This study suggests there may be a significant amount of unidentified cognitive impairment amongst older adults attending alcohol treatment. Assessment and routine screening for cognitive impairment in drug and alcohol services may help in care planning and setting treatment goals; in the absence of routine screening opportunities for treatment planning and intervention may be missed.

Suicide behaviour rates vary significantly between countries due to a range of cultural, behavioural and health‐related factors. Gender and age‐related factors also appear to be impor tant key determinants of vulnerability to suicide ideation and suicide completion. The homeless population is par ticularly at risk, due to multiple complex issues that relate to social exclusion, alcohol, drug, mental health and nutritional issues. Studying homeless people is problematic due to access, the transitory nature of their contact with statutary services, problems of self‐repor t and recall in people ‐ some of whom have mental health and cognitive issues. There is an increasing interest from practitioners and academic researchers in spiritual factors that appear to modulate the responses of an individual to the internal and external threats that underlie the motivation to end his or her life. Effective approaches to suicide prevention and crisis management require a good understanding of the interplay between this complex set of biological, psychological and social domains. These will be explored in the final section of this review. This paper, therefore, aims to provide a non‐systematic review of the existing literature published in academic journals and relvant ‘grey literature’ and focuses on themes in the literature that will hopefully inform both policy and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an alcohol withdrawal syndrome risk stratification tool that could support the safe discharge of low risk patients from the emergency department.

A retrospective cohort study that included all patients referred to the acute addiction liaison nursing service over one calendar month (n=400, 1–30 April 2016) was undertaken. Bivariate and multivariate modelling identified the significant variables that supported the prediction of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome (SAWS) in the cohort population.

The Glasgow Modified Alcohol Withdrawal Scale (GMAWS), hours since last drink, fast alcohol screening test (FAST) and systolic blood pressure correctly identified 89 per cent of patients who developed SAWS and 84 per cent of patients that did not. Increasing each component by a score of one is associated with an increase in the odds of SAWS by a factor of 2.76 (95% CI 2.21, 3.45), 1.31 (95% CI 1.24, 1.37), 1.30 (95% CI 1.08, 1.57) and 1.22 (95% CI 1.10, 1.34), respectively.

The research was conducted in a single healthcare system that had a high prevalence of alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS). Second, the developed risk stratification tool was unable to guarantee no risk and lastly, the FAST score previously aligned to severe ADS may have influenced the patients highest GMAWS score.

The tool could help redesign the care pathway for patients who attend the emergency department at risk of SAWS and link low risk patients with community alcohol services better equipped to deal with their physical and psychological needs short and long term supporting engagement, abstinence and prolongation of life.

The tool could help redesign the care pathway for emergency department patients at low risk of SAWS and link them with community alcohol services better equipped to deal with their physical and psychological needs, short and long term, supporting engagement, abstinence and prolongation of life.

The dementias are important disorders of ageing which result in cognitive and functional decline, behaviour change, increasing dependency and premature death. Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are at least as prevalent in older people with learning disabilities as in the general population. In addition, people with Down's syndrome have high rates of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Assessment of dementia in people with learning disabilities is confounded by pre‐existing cognitive and functional impairments and high rates of comorbid disorders. This paper discusses assessment of dementia in people with learning disabilities from a clinical perspective, with reference to the current evidence base.

Concerns about the alcohol – violence correlation are increasing and impacting on social policy in the UK and throughout the world. It is not certain, however, how much, or if at all, violence is linked to alcohol consumption. The purpose of this paper is to contest often widely held notions and accepted views about alcohol-related violence and to highlight a belief that the link between the two is much more complex than it is sometimes portrayed.

Review and analysis of the recent literature.

Many studies throughout the literature claim to evidence a biological or pharmacological explanation for the relationship between alcohol and violence in terms of the effect alcohol has on the central nervous system and ensuing behaviour. Other authors who focused on the fact that the relationship may be mediated by all kinds of other personal, social, environmental and cultural factors argue that the effects of alcohol depend upon the social context in which the drinking occurs. From this analysis, four main perspectives and subsequent theories emerge which appear to define the concept.

By challenging what is often seen by some as a mechanistic causal link between alcohol and violence, clinicians and other professionals working with those individuals affected by alcohol dependence can suggest interventions that help perpetrators of violence work towards addressing their aggression that are not necessarily dependent upon how successful they are in reducing their alcohol consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of parents and other adults in preventing and facilitating teen binge drinking.

Teens' discussions on internet websites were accessed to examine their opinions of their alcohol‐related interactions with adults.

The results show that in the context of a western society such as Australia, the role of adults in endorsing a culture of excessive alcohol consumption may be considerable.

Social marketing campaigns are needed to sensitise adults to this situation and outline strategies that can be used by adults to reduce negative impacts and enhance their potential to reduce alcohol consumption among young people.

Previous research into teenagers' alcohol consumption behaviours has focused on self‐reports obtained via surveys or focus groups. Such data collection processes are likely to be subject to considerable social desirability bias. The present study demonstrates that the internet can constitute a valuable alternative source of data relating to young people's engagement in unhealthy behaviours and the factors impacting their decisions to enact these behaviours.

The purpose of this paper is to identify published literature from a general hospital setting that may highlight variables implicated in the development of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome (SAWS) in patients who have alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS).

A systematic literature review was carried out using the electronic databases: MEDLINE, Medline in Process, Cinahl, Embase and PsycINFO from 1989 to 2017. The focus of this search was on English language studies of individuals over 16 years admitted to general hospital with ADS, delirium tremens (DTs), alcohol-related seizure (ARS) or alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS).

Of the 205 studies screened, eight met the criteria for inclusion. Six studies were quantitative retrospective cohort and two were retrospective case-control. Six studies investigated risk factors associated with DTs, one examined SAWS and one alcohol kindling. Descriptive analysis was performed to summarise the empirical evidence from studies were 22 statistically significant risk factors were found; including the reason for admission to hospital, daily alcohol consumption, previous DTs and prior ARS. The last two factors mentioned appeared in two studies.

Further research should consider the quality and completeness of the alcohol history data and competence of staff generating the data in retrospective studies.

The paper suggests that the factors linked to SAWS development from the literature may not fully explain why some individuals who have ADS develop SAWS, and others do not.

Social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) is a term used to refer to the state of an individual's overall wellbeing. This review aims to consider the importance of understanding and assessing SEWB in prisoner populations, and identify potentially important differences between groups of prisoners, including those who identify as from minority cultural backgrounds (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Australia), protective custody prisoners, remand prisoners, prisoners identified with an intellectual disability, and prisoners with an acquired brain injury.

The paper is a general review of the published literature, with a specific focus on work conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia.

Eight domains of SEWB are identified across which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, along with those in protection units, remandees, and prisoners with intellectual disabilities or acquired brain injuries are likely to experience particularly low levels of functioning. Few programs have been developed to address these needs, although attending to low levels of SEWB has the potential to make a positive contribution to prisoner health, prison management, and offender rehabilitation.

Relatively little literature has considered this topic previously and, as a result, the paper is necessarily descriptive. Nonetheless, issues of SEWB appear to warrant further consideration, particularly in relation to those prisoners who identify with minority cultural groups.