Showing papers in "Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in 2013"
TL;DR: Marijuana use and other illicit drug use are both associated with a decreased likelihood of continuous enrollment in college, independent of several other possible risk factors, highlighting the need for early intervention with illicit drug users to mitigate possible negative academic consequences.
Abstract: Objective:Few longitudinal studies have examined the relationship between illicit drug use and academic outcomes among college students. This study characterized drug use patterns of a cohort of young adults who were originally enrolled as first-time, first-year college students in a longitudinal study. It evaluated the association between these drug use patterns and continuous enrollment during college, holding constant demographic characteristics, high school grade point average, fraternity/sorority involvement, personality/temperament characteristics, nicotine dependence, and alcohol use disorder.Method:Participants (n = 1,133; 47% male) were purposively selected from one university and interviewed annually for 4 years, beginning with their first year of college, regardless of continued college attendance. Enrollment data were culled from administrative records. Group-based trajectory analyses characterized 4-year longitudinal drug use patterns. Two grouping variables were derived based on (a) marijuan...
124 citations
TL;DR: This first known investigation of the unique impact of social norms, cannabis use motives, and cannabis effect expectancies on cannabis use finds descriptive norms and coping motives may be two cognitive vulnerability factors that could be particularly important targets for interventions.
Abstract: Objective:Given that the majority of college cannabis use occurs in social situations, descriptive norms (beliefs about others’ use) and injunctive norms (others’ approval of risky use) may be particularly relevant to cannabis-related behaviors. Yet, little research has examined the unique impact of these norms on one’s own behaviors when accounting for the variance attributable to other relevant cognitive factors. The current study is the first known investigation of the unique impact of social norms, cannabis use motives, and cannabis effect expectancies on cannabis use.Method:Data came from 223 (64.1% female) current cannabis-using undergraduates who completed an online questionnaire in exchange for psychology-course research credit.Results:Descriptive norms regarding friends (not students in general) and injunctive norms (friends and parents) were related to cannabis use frequency. Descriptive norms (friends, not students in general) and injunctive norms (friends, not parents) were related to cannabis...
112 citations
TL;DR: Findings indicate that substance use severity differentiates heroin users from OA users and injectors from non-injectors, and there is no evidence of superiority of BUP over methadone for treating OAusers versus heroin users.
Abstract: Objective The objective of this secondary analysis was to explore differences in baseline clinical characteristics and opioid replacement therapy treatment outcomes by type (heroin, opioid analgesic [OA], or combined [heroin and OA]) and route (injector or non-injector) of opioid use. Method A total of 1,269 participants (32.2% female) were randomized to receive one of two study medications (methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone [BUP]). Of these, 731 participants completed the 24-week active medication phase. Treatment outcomes were opioid use during the final 30 days of treatment (among treatment completers) and treatment attrition. Results Non-opioid substance dependence diagnoses and injecting differentiated heroin and combined users from OA users. Non-opioid substance dependence diagnoses and greater heroin use differentiated injectors from non-injectors. Further, injectors were more likely to be using at end of treatment compared with non-injectors. OA users were more likely to complete treatment compared with heroin users and combined users. Non-injectors were more likely than injectors to complete treatment. There were no interactions between type of opioid used or injection status and treatment assignment (methadone or BUP) on either opioid use or treatment attrition. Conclusions Findings indicate that substance use severity differentiates heroin users from OA users and injectors from non-injectors. Irrespective of medication, heroin use and injecting are associated with treatment attrition and opioid misuse during treatment. These results have particular clinical interest, as there is no evidence of superiority of BUP over methadone for treating OA users versus heroin users.
100 citations
TL;DR: Assessing the relationships among three vital health-related domains (mental health, sleep behavior, and alcohol risk) in college students offers important implications for college personnel and interventionists interested in reducing alcohol risk by focusing on alleviating mental health problems and poor sleep quality.
Abstract: Objective:Poor mental health, sleep problems, drinking motivations, and high-risk drinking are prevalent among college students. However, research designed to explicate the interrelationships among these health risk behaviors is lacking. This study was designed to assess the direct and indirect influences of poor mental health (a latent factor consisting of depression, anxiety, and stress) to alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences through the mediators of global sleep quality and drinking motives in a comprehensive model.Method:Participants were 1,044 heavy-drinking college students (66.3% female) who completed online surveys.Results:A hybrid structural equation model tested hypotheses involving relations leading from poor mental health to drinking motives and poorer global sleep quality to drinking outcomes. Results showed that poor mental health significantly predicted all four subscales of drinking motivations (social, coping, conformity, and enhancement) as well as poor sleep. Most of the drinki...
86 citations
TL;DR: The effect of bar density on assault injuries was well supported and positive, and the magnitude of the effect varied by neighborhood characteristics.
Abstract: Objective:Groups of potentially violent drinkers may frequent areas of communities with large numbers of alcohol outlets, especially bars, leading to greater rates of alcohol-related assaults. This study assessed direct and moderating effects of bar densities on assaults across neighborhoods.Method:We analyzed longitudinal population data relating alcohol outlet densities (total outlet density, proportion bars/pubs, proportion off-premise outlets) to hospitalizations for assault injuries in California across residential ZIP code areas from 1995 through 2008 (23,213 space-time units). Because few ZIP codes were consistently defined over 14 years and these units are not independent, corrections for unit misalignment and spatial autocorrelation were implemented using Bayesian space-time conditional autoregressive models.Results:Assaults were related to outlet densities in local and surrounding areas, the mix of outlet types, and neighborhood characteristics. The addition of one outlet per square mile was rel...
83 citations
TL;DR: Findings support the association between tobacco and marijuana use among young people but speak to the importance of addressing tobacco cognitions in young adult smokers regardless of level of marijuana use.
Abstract: Objective:We examined the frequency and intensity of tobacco use and thoughts about abstinence among young adults in the United States as a function of their use of marijuana. We hypothesized that heavier marijuana use would be associated with heavier tobacco use and fewer attempts to quit smoking, and we explored relationships between marijuana use and ratings of intentions and thoughts related to quitting tobacco.Method:This was a cross-sectional survey consisting of online recruitment and anonymous self-report. Participants were English literate, were between the ages of 18 and 25 years, and reported past-month tobacco use. More than half (53%) had smoked marijuana in the past 30 days. Tobacco use (quantity/frequency, Heavy Smoking Index, past-year quit attempt), thoughts about tobacco use (outcome expectancies, desire, self-efficacy, difficulty of quitting, abstinence goal, pros and cons, stage of change), alcohol use, and other drug use were assessed.Results:Compared with those who smoked only tobacc...
77 citations
TL;DR: The study evaluated the timing and dosage of a parent-based intervention to minimize alcohol consumption for students with varying drinking histories to underscore the value of pre-college parental interventions and targeted efforts to reduce high-risk drinking among college students.
Abstract: Objective:The study evaluated the timing and dosage of a parent-based intervention to minimize alcohol consumption for students with varying drinking histories.Method:First-year students (N = 1,900) completed Web assessments during the summer before college (baseline) and two follow-ups (fall of first and second years). Students were randomized to one of four conditions (pre-college matriculation [PCM], pre-college matriculation plus boosters [PCM+B], after college matriculation [ACM], and control conditions). Seven indicators of drinking (drink in past month, been drunk in past month, weekday [Sunday to Wednesday] drinking, Thursday drinking, weekend [Friday, Saturday] drinking, heavy episodic drinking in past 2 weeks, and peak blood alcohol concentration <.08) were used in a latent transition analysis (LTA) to examine a stage-sequential model of drinking. LTA models with dummy-coded intervention variables were used to examine the effects of the intervention conditions on changes in drinking patterns.Res...
70 citations
TL;DR: Findings suggest the importance of considering acute alcohol use when evaluating short-term risk for suicide attempts, and suggest that higher levels of drinking uniquely posed greater risk for a suicide attempt than lower levels of Drinking.
Abstract: Objective:The extent to which acute alcohol use is a unique risk factor for suicide attempts is unknown. The aims of the current study were to quantify the unique effect of acute alcohol use on suicide attempts when adjusting for other acute exposures (other drug use and negative life events).Method:The current study used a case-crossover design and participants included 192 (62% female) recent suicide attempters presenting to a Level 1 trauma hospital. A timeline followback methodology was used to assess acute exposures within the 48 hours before the suicide attempt.Results:Results indicated that individuals were at increased odds of attempting suicide soon after drinking (odds ratio [OR] = 6.34), adjusting for acute drug use and negative life events. Furthermore, higher levels of drinking uniquely posed greater risk for a suicide attempt than lower levels of drinking (OR = 6.13) and no drinking (OR = 16.19) before the attempt.Conclusions:Findings suggest the importance of considering acute alcohol use w...
69 citations
TL;DR: Examination of pre- and postinhibition processes suggested that more severe AUDs are associated with greater engagement of motor response circuits before inhibition trials, suggesting greater pre-potent tendencies that may lead to disinhibition.
Abstract: Objective:The current study examined the relationship between severity of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and the neural circuits that underlie response inhibition and error monitoring. In addition, we explored pre- and post-inhibition trial processes to determine the potential causal mechanisms responsible for disinhibition in AUDs.Method:One hundred sixty-four individuals with a range of drinking from non-treatment-seeking adults with problematic alcohol use to treatment-seeking adults with alcohol dependence completed a Go/NoGo task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging.Results:Correlations between signal change during response inhibition and a composite measure of AUD severity revealed significant negative relationships in right insula/inferior frontal gyrus, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, and inferior parietal lobe. Relationships with error monitoring-related response largely overlapped with that of correct inhibitions but also included rostral anterior cingulate cortex and left i...
68 citations
TL;DR: The location and time of adolescent substance use vary substantially by age, gender, and race, and these differences may help tailor substance use prevention and intervention programs to specific subgroups of youth to improve program effectiveness.
Abstract: Objective:This study examined the location and time of adolescent use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Age, gender, and racial differences in location and time of use were studied for each substance.Method:Using cross-sectional data collected through the school-wide Pride Survey, 20,055 students between the ages of 10 and 19 years (53.6% female, 55.1% Black, 44.9% White) in one metropolitan area reported on their frequency of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, as well as the location and time of use of each substance. Chi-square tests compared the rates, locations, and times for each substance across boys and girls; Black and White students; and early, middle, and late adolescents.Results:Older adolescents reported higher rates of substance use at friends’ homes, at school, and in cars and lower rates of alcohol use at home compared with younger youth. Males were more likely to report alcohol and marijuana use at school and on weeknights and alcohol use in cars, whereas females were more likely ...
63 citations
TL;DR: College student heavy drinkers who also smoke cigarettes exhibit increased demand for alcohol, and smokers in this high-risk developmental stage may be less sensitive to price and other contingencies that would otherwise serve to modulate drinking and may require more intensive intervention approaches.
Abstract: Objective:Cigarette smokers have higher levels of alcohol consumption than nonsmokers and poorer response to alcohol treatment. It is possible that the greater severity of alcohol problems observed in smokers reflects a greater susceptibility to alcohol-related reinforcement. The present study used a behavioral economic purchase task to investigate whether heavy drinking smokers would have greater demand for alcohol than heavy drinking nonsmokers.Method:Participants were 207 college students who reported at least one heavy drinking episode in the past month. Of the 207 participants, 33.2% (n = 67) reported smoking cigarettes at least 1 day in the past month. Participants completed the hypothetical alcohol purchase task, a simulation task that asked them to report how many drinks they would purchase at varying price increments.Results:After the participants’ reported alcohol consumption, gender, alcohol problems, and depression were controlled for, analyses of covariance revealed that heavy drinking smoker...
TL;DR: Among high anxiety-sensitivity persons, compared with those low in anxiety sensitivity, anhedonic depression symptoms may be more relevant to the experience of some withdrawal symptoms being more intense and persistent during the early phases of quitting.
Abstract: Objective:The aim of the present investigation was to explore the main and interactive effects of anhedonic depressive symptoms and anxiety sensitivity in terms of the individual components of nicotine withdrawal symptoms experienced on quit day as well as throughout the initial 14 days of cessation.Method:Participants included 65 daily cigarette smokers (38 women; Mage = 46.08 years, SD = 9.12) undergoing psychosocial-pharmacological cessation treatment.Results:Results indicated that, after controlling for the effects of participant sex and nicotine dependence, anhedonic depression symptoms, but not anxiety sensitivity, significantly predicted quit day levels of mood-based nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Conversely, anxiety sensitivity, but not anhedonic depression symptoms, was significantly related to the change in most nicotine withdrawal symptoms over time. Finally, our results revealed a significant interaction between anxiety sensitivity and anhedonic depression symptoms related to the slope of certa...
TL;DR: The results imply that individuals with higher-than-average levels of affect variation are at risk for high levels of alcohol involvement and that people are more likely to drink on days characterized by higher- than-normal levels of fluctuation in affect.
Abstract: Objective: We hypothesized that individuals who are unable to effectively regulate emotional reactivity, which we operational- ized as variability in self-reported affect throughout the day, would use alcohol more frequently and would report higher levels of drinking to cope. Further, we hypothesized that affect variation would be a stronger predictor of alcohol use or drinking to cope than level of negative affect. Method: A total of 86 college-age students (53% female, 77% White) participated in an intensive longitudinal study for 28 days. Participants reported positive and negative affect thrice daily and reported alcohol use once daily. Participant coping motives were assessed at study initiation. Results: Affect variability predicted increased drinking frequency and higher levels of self-reported drinking to cope. Mean level of negative affect was not related to an increased probability of drinking, nor was it related to self-reported drinking to cope. Both individual differences in affect variation and intra-individual daily fl uctuations in affect were asso- ciated with an increased likelihood of drinking. Conclusions: Our results imply that individuals with higher-than-average levels of affect variation are at risk for high levels of alcohol involvement and that people are more likely to drink on days characterized by higher-than-normal levels of flin affect. Future studies on self-medication should consider negative affect variability in addition to—or instead of—level of negative affect. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 74, 576-583, 2013)
TL;DR: For adolescents' alcohol use, the links between sibling modeling and shared peer networks were interactive, such that the associations between modeling and similarity in alcohol use were stronger when siblings shared friends.
Abstract: Objective:An accumulating body of work indicates that siblings uniquely influence each other’s alcohol and substance use behaviors during adolescence. The mechanisms underlying these associations, however, are unknown because most studies have not measured sibling influence processes. The present study addressed this gap by exploring the links between multiple influence processes and sibling similarities in alcohol and substance use.Method:The sample included one parent and two adolescent siblings (earlier born age: M = 17.17 years, SD = 0.94; later born age: M = 14.52 years, SD = 1.27) from 326 families. Data were collected via telephone interviews with parents and the two siblings.Results:A series of logistic regressions revealed that, after parents’ and peers’ use as well as other variables including parenting was statistically controlled for, older siblings’ alcohol and other substance use was positively associated with younger siblings’ patterns of use. Furthermore, sibling modeling and shared friend...
TL;DR: Alcohol-specific parenting is a distinct and influential predictor of adolescent alcohol use initiation that is partially shaped by parents' own drinking experiences and may not represent a form of parent-child communication about drinking that deters adolescent drinking.
Abstract: Objective:The primary aim of the current study was to examine three dimensions of alcohol-specific parenting (anti-alcohol parenting strategies, parental legitimacy in regulating adolescent drinking, and parental disclosure of negative alcohol experiences) as mechanisms in the prospective relations between parental drinking and alcohol use disorder (recovered, current, and never diagnosed) and adolescent alcohol use initiation.Method:Participants were from an ongoing longitudinal study of the intergenerational transmission of alcoholism. Structural equation modeling was used to test a maternal model (n = 268 adolescents and their mothers) and a paternal model (n = 204 adolescents and their fathers) of alcohol-specific parenting.Results:Results indicated that higher levels of drinking among mothers and current alcohol use disorder among fathers were related to more frequent parental disclosure of personal negative experiences with alcohol. Maternal disclosure of negative alcohol experiences mediated the ef...
TL;DR: It is suggested that smoking manifests unique breathing patterns that are highly correlated with hand-to-mouth cigarette gestures and suggest that these signals can potentially be used to identify and characterize individual smoke inhalations.
Abstract: Objective:Available methods of smoking assessment (e.g., self-report, portable puff-topography instruments) do not permit the collection of accurate measures of smoking behavior while minimizing reactivity to the assessment procedure. This article suggests a new method for monitoring cigarette smoking based on a wearable sensor system (Personal Automatic Cigarette Tracker [PACT]) that is completely transparent to the end user and does not require any conscious effort to achieve reliable monitoring of smoking in free-living individuals.Method:The proposed sensor system consists of a respiratory inductance plethysmograph for monitoring of breathing and a hand gesture sensor for detecting a cigarette at the mouth. The wearable sensor system was tested in a laboratory study of 20 individuals who performed 12 different activities including cigarette smoking. Signal processing was applied to evaluate the uniqueness of breathing patterns and their correlation with hand gestures.Results:The results indicate that ...
TL;DR: Findings support a context-specific risk for consequences that is conferred by pregaming and that is independent of how much drinking occurs across the drinking episode, and highlight pregaming as a target for future interventions.
Abstract: Objective:Pregaming (drinking before a social occasion) predicts alcohol consequences between persons; people who pregame report greater consequences than those who do not. The present study examined within-person associations between pregaming and daily consequences.Method:Participants were college students (N = 44; 50% female) reporting past-month pregaming. Daily drinks consumed (during pregaming and across the entire drinking episode) and alcohol consequences were assessed with a 30-day Timeline Followback interview.Results:Within individuals, engaging in pregaming predicted consequences experienced on a given day above and beyond the number of drinks consumed across the drinking episode and typical drinking level. Furthermore, there was a trend toward pregaming placing women at more risk for consequences than men.Conclusions:Findings support a context-specific risk for consequences that is conferred by pregaming and that is independent of how much drinking occurs across the drinking episode. Results ...
TL;DR: Results confirm the hypothesis that the effects of police compliance checks do spill over to neighboring establishments, and have implications for the development of an optimal schedule ofPolice compliance checks.
Abstract: Objective:Underage alcohol compliance checks conducted by law enforcement agencies can reduce the likelihood of illegal alcohol sales at checked alcohol establishments, and theory suggests that an alcohol establishment that is checked may warn nearby establishments that compliance checks are being conducted in the area. In this study, we examined whether the effects of compliance checks diffuse to neighboring establishments.Method:We used data from the Complying with the Minimum Drinking Age trial, which included more than 2,000 compliance checks conducted at more than 900 alcohol establishments. The primary outcome was the sale of alcohol to a pseudo-underage buyer without the need for age identification. A multilevel logistic regression was used to model the effect of a compliance check at each establishment as well as the effect of compliance checks at neighboring establishments within 500 m (stratified into four equal-radius concentric rings), after buyer, license, establishment, and community-level v...
TL;DR: Results suggest greater exposure to economic loss for both Blacks and Latinos (vs. Whites) and that the Black population may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of economic hardship on the development and/or maintenance of alcohol problems during economic downturns.
Abstract: Objective:We examined whether race/ethnicity was related to exposure to acute economic losses in the 2008–2009 recession, even accounting for individual-level and geographic variables, and whether it influenced associations between economic losses and drinking patterns and problems.Method:Data were from the 2010 National Alcohol Survey (N = 5,382). Surveys assessed both severe losses (i.e., job and housing loss) and moderate losses (i.e., reduced hours/pay and trouble paying the rent/mortgage) attributed to the 2008–2009 recession. Alcohol outcomes included total annual volume, monthly drunkenness, drinking consequences, and alcohol dependence (based on criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition).Results:Compared with Whites, Blacks reported significantly greater exposure to job loss and trouble paying the rent/mortgage, and Latinos reported greater exposure to all economic losses. However, only Black–White differences were robust in multivariate analyses. Inte...
TL;DR: Current ketamine use is associated with cognitive impairment andicit substance treatment and rehabilitation services should pay attention to ketamine's cognitive effects and motivate their clients to quit using ketamine and stay abstinent.
Abstract: Objective:Both cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms have been reported in ketamine users. However, no previous study has examined the relationship between them. This study aimed to examine cognitive functions and depressive symptoms and their relationship in young ketamine users in Hong Kong.Method:Fifty-one current ketamine users, 49 ex-ketamine users, and 100 healthy controls were recruited from counseling and youth centers in Hong Kong in this cross-sectional study. Cognitive assessment included mental and motor speed; working, verbal, and visual memory; and executive functions. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory. One-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) and chi-square tests were used to analyze participants’ demographic data, patterns of drug use, Beck Depression Inventory score, and performance in a cognitive battery. Cognitive functions were adjusted for age, gender, and education using ANCOVA. Correlations between the Beck Depression Inventory score and cog...
TL;DR: Parental separation is a childhood environmental exposure that is more common in children of alcoholics, with timing of separation highly dependent on alcoholic parent gender.
Abstract: Objective:We examined history of alcoholism and occurrence and timing of separation in parents of a female twin cohort.Method:Parental separation (never-together; never-married cohabitants who separated; married who separated) was predicted from maternal and paternal alcoholism in 326 African ancestry (AA) and 1,849 European/other ancestry (EA) families. Broad (single-informant, reported in abstract) and narrow (self-report or two-informant) measures of alcoholism were compared.Results:Parental separation was more common in families with parental alcoholism: By the time twins were 18 years of age, parents had separated in only 24% of EA families in which neither parent was alcoholic, contrasted with 58% of families in which only the father was (father-only), 61% of families in which only the mother was (mother-only), and 75% in which both parents were alcoholic (two-parent); corresponding AA percentages were 59%, 71%, 82%, and 86%, respectively. Maternal alcoholism was more common in EA never-together cou...
TL;DR: Findings indicate that common genetic factors may underlie the vulnerability to alcohol dependence and the liability to binge eating and compensatory behaviors.
Abstract: Objective:Rates of alcohol dependence are elevated in women with eating disorders who engage in binge eating or compensatory behaviors compared with women with eating disorders who do not report binge eating or compensatory behaviors and with healthy controls. Alcohol dependence, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors are heritable; however, it is unclear whether a shared genetic liability contributes to the phenotypic association among these traits, and little information exists regarding this shared liability in men. We investigated genetic and environmental correlations among alcohol dependence, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors in male and female twins.Method:Participants included 5,993 same- and opposite-sex twins from the Australian Twin Registry who completed a modified version of the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism that assessed lifetime alcohol dependence and binge eating as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Rev...
TL;DR: Latent classes of alcohol users among non-college-attending youth and examine correlates of class membership were identified, with weekend risky drinkers most likely to report sickness and feelings of guilt because of drinking, whereas daily drinkers were most likelyto report getting into fights, driving a car after drinking, and missing work.
Abstract: Objective: Among emerging adults, those who do not attain postsecondary education are at highest risk for experiencing longterm problems related to alcohol use, including alcohol dependence. The purpose of the current study was to identify latent classes of alcohol users among non-college-attending youth and examine correlates of class membership. Method: Screening criteria were used to select emerging adults between ages 18 and 22 years with no postsecondary education (N = 264) from a prerecruited probability-based Web panel. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify common patterns of alcohol use. Grouping variables and demographic variables were added to the LCA model, and rates of alcohol-related consequences across the LCA classes were compared. Results: Four classes of drinking patterns were identified: (a) current nondrinkers (34%), (b) weekend light drinkers (38%), (c) weekend risky drinkers (23%), and (d) daily drinkers (5%). Class membership was associated with early onset of alcohol use (vage 14 or younger), marital status, employment status, and urban residency (area populated by 50,000 or more people). The number of latent classes did not differ across sex and legal drinking age status, although proportions of subjects within classes varied by age. Weekend risky drinkers were most likely to report sickness and feelings of guilt because of drinking, whereas daily drinkers were most likely to report getting into fights, driving a car after drinking, and missing work. Conclusions: Similar to college samples of emerging adults, most of this noncollege sample belonged to latent classes defined by rare or moderate alcohol use. Nevertheless, nearly a quarter of the sample reported high-risk drinking behaviors, and a small number reported drinking alcohol on a daily basis. Both of these classes were at elevated risk for experiencing a number of alcohol-related consequences. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 74, 84-93, 2013). Language: en
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the role of family conflict and subsequent depressed mood in predicting heavy alcohol use among adolescent girls in a three-wave longitudinal study with annual assessments (modal ages 12, 13, and 14 years).
Abstract: Objective:Heavy alcohol use increases dramatically at age 14, and there is emerging cross-sectional evidence that when girls experience family conflict at younger ages (11—13 years) the risk of alcohol use and misuse is high. This study evaluated the role of family conflict and subsequent depressed mood in predicting heavy alcohol use among adolescent girls.Method:This was a three-wave longitudinal study with annual assessments (modal ages 12, 13, and 14 years). The participants (N= 886, 57% female) were from 12 metropolitan schools in Victoria, Australia, and participants completed questionnaires during school class time. The key measures were based on the Communities That Care Youth Survey and included family conflict (Wave 1), depressed mood (Wave 2), and heavy alcohol use (Wave 3). Control variables included school commitment, number of peers who consumed alcohol, whether parents were living together, and ethnic background.Results:With all controls in the model, depressed mood at Wave 2 was predicted ...
TL;DR: Substance use currently is a minor sensitive topic among young men, resulting in small differences between nonconsenters and consenters, and as consent rates increase, additional individuals are similar to those observed at lower consent rates.
Abstract: Objective:The aim of this study was to examine the differences between those who gave informed consent to a study on substance use and those who did not, and to analyze whether differences changed with varying nonconsent rates.Method:Cross-sectional questionnaire data on demographics, alcohol, smoking, and cannabis use were obtained for 6,099 French- and 5,720 German-speaking 20-year-old Swiss men. Enrollment took place over 11 months for the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF). Consenters and nonconsenters were asked to complete a short questionnaire. Data for nearly the entire population were available because 94% responded. Weekly differences in consent rates were analyzed. Regressions examined the associations of substance use with consent giving and consent rates and the interaction between the two.Results:Nonconsenters had higher substance use patterns, although they were more often alcohol abstainers; differences were small and not always significant and did not decrease as consent ...
TL;DR: Results show that breath alcohol predicts performance on Trails B, but not on Trails A, and that years drinking, above and beyond acute intoxication, predicts poorer performance on both Trails A and B.
Abstract: Objective:Alcohol’s effects on executive functioning are well documented. Research in this area has provided much information on both the acute and chronic effects of alcohol on processes such as working memory and mental flexibility. However, most research on the acute effects of alcohol is conducted with individuals older than 21 years of age. Using field recruitment methods can provide unique empirical data on the acute effects of alcohol on an underage population.Method:The current study examined the independent effects of acute alcohol intoxication (measured by breath alcohol content) and chronic alcohol use (measured by years drinking) on a test of visuomotor performance and mental flexibility (Trail Making Test) among 91 drinkers ages 18–20 years recruited from a field setting.Results:Results show that breath alcohol predicts performance on Trails B, but not on Trails A, and that years drinking, above and beyond acute intoxication, predicts poorer performance on both Trails A and B.Conclusions:Thes...
TL;DR: There is extensive overlap of victimization and aggression in both peer and dating relationships, and those with high rates of violence across relationships have increased alcohol misuse and marijuana use.
Abstract: Objective:The purpose of this study was to identify overlap and violence types between peer and dating aggression and victimization using latent class analysis (LCA) among a sample of aggressive adolescents with a history of alcohol use and to identify risk and protective factors associated with each violence class.Method:From September 2006 to September 2009, a systematic sample of patients (14–18 years old) seeking care in an urban emergency department were approached. Adolescents reporting any past-year alcohol use and aggression completed a survey using validated measures including types of violence (severe and moderate aggression, severe and moderate victimization with both peers and dating partners). Using LCA, violence classes were identified; correlates of membership in each LCA class were determined.Results:Among this sample (n = 694), LCA identified three classes described as (a) peer aggression (PA) (52.2%), (b) peer aggression + peer victimization (PAPV) (18.6%), and (c) multiple domains of vi...
TL;DR: Patients seeking treatment in publicly funded treatment programs continue to face disparities in access to high-quality SUD treatment that supports patients' choices among a range of medication options, however, implementation of the Affordable Care Act may facilitate greater access to physicians and use of medications in publiclyfunded Sud treatment programs.
Abstract: Objective:Prior research suggests that publicly funded substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs lag behind privately funded programs in adoption of evidence-based practices, resulting in disparities in access to high-quality SUD treatment. These disparities highlight a critical public health concern because the majority of SUD patients in the United States are treated in the publicly funded treatment sector. This study uses recent data to examine disparities in access to physicians and availability of medications for the treatment of SUDs between publicly and privately funded SUD treatment programs.Method:Data were collected from 595 specialty SUD treatment programs from 2007 to 2010 via face-to-face interviews, mailed surveys, and telephone interviews with treatment program administrators.Results:Publicly funded programs were less likely than privately funded programs to have a physician on staff, even after controlling for several organizational characteristics that were associated with access to...
TL;DR: CNR1 variation emerged as a moderator of the relationship between trait impulsivity and marijuana problems, thus suggesting that marijuana users with CNR1 risk variants and a higher traits impulsivity are at greater risk for developing marijuana-related problems and supporting a role for C NR1 in a broader impulsivity phenotype.
Abstract: Objective:Impulsivity is associated with increased marijuana use and subsequent marijuana-related problems among marijuana users. In addition, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) genes have been associated with cannabis-related phenotypes. This exploratory study tested whether the association between different aspects of impulsivity and the number of marijuana-related problems among users is explicated by variation in these putative cannabinoid-related genes.Method:A total of 151 young adult regular marijuana users (used on M = 41.4% of the prior 60 days, SD = 24.3%) provided DNA and completed measures of trait (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and behavioral impulsivity (Stop Signal Task and Delay Discounting Questionnaire), as well as a self-report of marijuana-related problems. Three CNR1 and five FAAH SNPs were genotyped, tested for haplotype blocks, and subsequently examined for association with phenotypes described above.Resul...
TL;DR: The extent of the relationship between perceived social norms and drinking was buffered by the degree to which students identified with religiousness, and incorporating religious or spiritual values into student interventions may be a promising direction to pursue.
Abstract: Objective:Previous research has shown that perceived social norms are among the strongest predictors of drinking among young adults. Research has also consistently found religiousness to be protective against risk and negative health behaviors. The present research evaluates the extent to which reliance on God, prayer, and religion moderates the association between perceived social norms and drinking.Method:Participants (n = 1,124 undergraduate students) completed a cross-sectional survey online, which included measures of perceived norms, religious values, and drinking. Perceived norms were assessed by asking participants their perceptions of typical student drinking. Drinking outcomes included drinks per week, drinking frequency, and typical quantity consumed.Results:Regression analyses indicated that religiousness and perceived norms had significant unique associations in opposite directions for all three drinking outcomes. Significant interactions were evident between religiousness and perceived norms...