In this study we tested relations among personality characteristics, social network properties, and perceived social support both concurrently and prospectively. A sample of 294 men in treatment at a Department of Veterans Affairs Alcohol Treatment Unit was assessed during treatment and 3 months after discharge. Results of the cross-sectional structural equation analyses indicated that the personality characteristics of extraversion and neuroticism were related to both social network properties and perceived social support. Characteristics of the alcoholic's social network were also related to perceived availability of support. Longitudinal analyses of perceived social support after treatment indicated that two social network properties (size of the network and the proportion of confidants) were predictive net of initial levels of social support. Extraversion and neuroticism were found to be indirectly related to perceived social support at Time 2 through their effects on social network properties and perceived social support during treatment. Implications of these findings for models of the nature and determinants of perceived social support are discussed.

Social support is becoming recognized as a positive influence on health and health maintenance. Forms of support which bolster the patient's sense of personal efficacy should enhance the alcoholic's ability to cope with a specific stressor (i.e., overcoming his or her addiction). Patients reporting higher levels of social support during alcoholism treatment, especially support that enhances his or her self-esteem, should therefore demonstrate improved outcome compared to patients with lower levels. Sixty-one consecutive admissions to an inpatient alcoholism treatment program at a rural midwestern medical center completed an assessment of six forms of social support (Guidance, Reliable Alliance, Reassurance of Worth, Opportunity for Nurturance, Attachment, and Social Integration) in terms of support obtained from family and friends and from the treatment environment. For each patient, additional information concerning age, marital status, financial support, and previous alcohol-related hospitalizations was also obtained. Outcome of treatment was measured by readmission for an alcohol-related diagnosis within 1 year of discharge. Survival analysis found that reassurance of worth from family and friends and number of previous hospitalizations were independent and significant predictors of time to readmission. Higher levels of reassurance of worth or esteem support significantly lengthened time to readmission, with the reverse relationship found for number of previous hospitalizations. These results suggest that specific sources (family and friends) and forms (reassurance of worth) of social support are important to the recovering alcoholic and that the effect of social support on treatment outcome is independent of the alcoholic's history of prior treatment failure. Interventions or program modifications should be designed specifically to bolster these facets of social support rather than addressing more general forms of support.

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The most recent comprehensive information about internships in professional psychology was based on data from the 1979-1980 training year. To update this information, we collected data about internships from the 371 members of the Association of Psychology Internship Centers for the I984-I9S5 training year. We examined the number of internship positions, current stipend levels, types and breadth of major supervised training experiences, types of academic programs from which applicants would be considered, number of staff, number of intern applications, and sources of internship funding. We found differences by APA approval status, geographical region, and type of internship setting. It appears that the marketplace for interns has expanded and that APA approval of both academic programs and internship sites continues to play a significant role in the process.The topic of internships in professional psychology touches virtually every clinical, counseling, and school psychologist.Not only is completion of an internship experience a required part of much professional psychology training, but also many professional psychologists continue involvement with the internship process through training, supervising, or advising interns. Kurz, Fuchs, Dabek, Kurtz, and Helfrich (1982) conducted one of the more comprehensive studies of internships, using the 272 entries in the eighth edition (1979)(1980) of the Association of Psychology Internship Centers (APIC) directory (Kurz, 1979). Their results indicated that internship settings varied widely in funding and training opportunities but that internships approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) tended to have more funded interns with larger supervisory staff than did non-APA-approved internships. They found, as had Drummond, Rodolfa, and Smith (1981) before them, that applicants from APA-approved clinical psychology academic programs were the most preferred by a majority of training sites. Their descriptive analysis concluded with a discussion of the uncertain future of internships given predictions of shortages in internship positions