Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs最新文献

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) can be a powerful and flexible tool for collecting data on alcohol use, particularly to understand proximal precursors and consequences. EMA can also be leveraged to inform the development of and deploy mobile-health (mHealth) interventions. This article describes the development of an mHealth ecological momentary intervention (EMI) for young adults with high-risk alcohol use and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This novel intervention uses EMA as an intervention component to increase self-awareness via symptom monitoring. It also incorporates additional EMI components, including personalized feedback and behavioral strategy suggestions ("tips"), which operate synergistically with EMA questions and are tailored by EMA data. The theoretical underpinnings of this intervention are described, and its distinct relevance for young adults with ADHD who engage in high-risk alcohol use is discussed. The process of developing this mHealth EMI is detailed, including examining EMA data to generate intervention content, considering participant feedback through iterative pilot testing, and applying human-centered design methods with end users and community partners. Finally, practical considerations of this intervention approach are discussed, including unique benefits, key challenges, and exciting future opportunities.

Objective: Alcohol cues vary situationally across contexts and have been recognized as a factor that contributes to craving and alcohol use. We describe a brief web-based personalized feedback intervention (PFI) that summarizes ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data collected in a pilot study. The PFI highlighted young adults' desire to drink and the presence/absence of alcohol cues, capitalizing on variability found in the natural environment across 17 days. We examined the extent to which the EMA data collected in the pilot study were optimal for use in the PFI and participants' evaluations of the PFI.

Method: Eligibility criteria included being age 18-24 years and reporting one or more heavy episodic drinking occasions in the last month. Data were collected from 51 participants (mean age = 21.69 years, SD = 1.86; 54.9% female; 56.9% non-Hispanic White). Data were from a baseline survey, 17 days of EMAs (4×/day), and an evaluation survey.

Results: High EMA survey retention was obtained (85.8% completion). The intraclass correlation coefficient for desire to drink showed that 22% of the variability was between persons and 78% was within persons. Cues of interest were adequately reported (e.g., physical cues reported on 23.2% of P.M. surveys, being around people with whom they typically drink on 31.9% of P.M. surveys). Participants rated the intervention favorably on 8 of 14 items (mean greater than 4.0 on a scale of 1-5).

Conclusions: EMA data offer rich opportunities for PFIs aimed at reducing alcohol use and consequences. The Alcohol Cue Reactivity PFI described here can inform future intervention research.

Objective: We investigated how rates of change in acculturation processes correlated with changes in alcohol use frequency and quantity among young adult Latina women after they immigrated to the United States.

Method: Using univariate and parallel process latent growth modeling, we examined 3-year trajectories of alcohol frequency and quantity and two types of acculturation processes among 530 foreign-born, young adult Latina women (ages 18-23) during their initial years in the United States. The acculturation processes were enculturation (the retention or adoption of Latinx cultural beliefs, values, and behaviors) and assimilation (the adoption of mainstream U.S. cultural beliefs, values, and behaviors).

Results: We observed significant increases in assimilation and enculturation and significant declines in alcohol use frequency and quantity over the 3-year period. A significant longitudinal bivariate association was found between slope estimates of assimilation and alcohol use quantity over time when accounting for months in the United States and immigration status. Women who exhibited higher increases in assimilation levels also exhibited less of a decline in alcohol use quantity than their peers over the 3-year period. In addition, women who resided longer in the United States at the first assessment than their peers indicated greater declines in alcohol use over the 3-year period.

Conclusions: Findings support a social norms model that posits that increased alcohol use among young adult Latina women is attributable to assimilation into the more permissive U.S. drinking culture after immigration. Prevention interventions are encouraged to address this relationship during young Latina women's initial years in the United States.

Objective: High school youth have an elevated risk of substance use. Some substances (e.g., inhalants, MDMA/Ecstasy [3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine]) used by youth are overlooked or grouped in an "other" category. Compared with other racial/ethnic groups, American Indian (AI) youth may be at higher risk of using these substances. The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence and patterns of use of other substances among youth living on or near reservations.

Method: This study uses data from Our Youth Our Future, a national probability sample survey of substance use among reservation-based youth (n = 14,769), to examine prevalence rates of use across sex (51% male), AI identity (61% AI), and their intersection within seven geographic regions of the United States.

Results: Results indicate that AI youth largely did not endorse other substance use at significantly higher rates than non-AI youth. However, in two regions, they held higher odds of using any other substance than non-AI participants. In the Southeast and Northwest, AI youth were less likely to use prescription opioids and over-the-counter cold medicines than non-AI youth, respectively. Notable effects for sex emerged, such that males in the Southwest were more likely to use inhalants, hallucinogens, and tranquilizers than female participants. Participants in the Southern Plains reported the highest prevalence of other substance use.

Conclusions: Although the overall risk of using other substances is similar between AI and non-AI youth in many regions, differences in use patterns by AI identity and sex can help target prevention and intervention efforts.

Objective: Nicotine dependence is a significant public health issue linked to various psychosocial problems. However, previous research has largely examined these relationships in a unidirectional manner or at the between-person level, overlooking the potential for within-person fluctuations over time. This study uses a longitudinal approach to investigate the bidirectional associations between nicotine dependence, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems among adults. In addition, we examine gender as a potential moderator of these relationships.

Method: Using data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study (2013-2021), we analyzed four waves of data from a nationally representative sample of 9,620 adults. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) was used to distinguish between-person and within-person associations while accounting for individual variability over time. A multigroup RI-CLPM was conducted to assess gender differences.

Results: At the between-person level, nicotine dependence was positively associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems. At the within-person level, significant bidirectional associations were observed between nicotine dependence and internalizing problems, as well as between internalizing and externalizing problems. Gender moderated these associations, with females showing stronger links between nicotine dependence and internalizing problems, whereas males exhibited stronger associations between nicotine dependence and externalizing behaviors.

Conclusions: These findings highlight the complex, dynamic interplay between nicotine dependence and psychosocial problems, emphasizing the need for tailored interventions that account for both within-person fluctuations and gender differences. Understanding these mechanisms can inform more effective prevention and treatment strategies targeting nicotine dependence and associated mental health challenges.

Objective: Despite alcohol use remaining a prevalent issue on college campuses, the number of students who seek help remains low. The Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) provides a theoretical framework for understanding the psychosocial drivers of help-seeking intentions; social networks offer additional potential utility by shaping norms and attitudes that influence these behaviors. This study investigated the association between college students' social network characteristics, the RAA, and intentions to seek help for alcohol use if they thought or knew they had a problem.

Method: Cross-sectional survey data from 1,447 college students were extracted from a larger, nationally representative student quota sample. Inclusion criteria were between 18 and 24 years of age, enrolled full time in a college or university, reported past-year alcohol consumption, and passed data quality checks. Participants reported demographics, RAA constructs, and egocentric network data. Network composition variables were calculated via E-Net. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to examine intentions to seek help.

Results: A regression model of RAA constructs was statistically significant at the p < .001 level, accounting for nearly 40% of the variance in help-seeking intentions. Adding network composition variables increased the explained variance by an additional 2.8%, which was statistically significant at the p < .001 level.

Conclusions: Integrating RAA constructs with social network characteristics can help identify specific individual beliefs and social influences that can be targeted to strengthen help-seeking intentions and behaviors among college students who engage in high-risk drinking.

Objective: Vaping among adolescents has surged in recent years, underscoring the need to identify intentions and motivating factors behind vaping. While weight management behaviours have been associated with vaping, the largely cross-sectional evidence precludes understanding of how these behaviours may relate to and reinforce each other over time. This study explored the bidirectional associations between vaping and changed eating to manage weight and shape over three years of adolescence.

Method: Adolescents from the [deidentified] study (N = 8,960, M_age = 13.8 (SD = 1.1), 55.5% cisgender girls) completed self-report surveys annually for three years (T1 2020/2021, T2 2021/2022, T3 2022/2023). Data were analyzed using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models with full information maximum likelihood.

Results: Increases in vaping were noted over time (20.9% at T1, 40.0% at T3), and 30% of adolescents were changing their eating to manage their weight/shape each year. Weak but significant associations were generally observed, such that cisgender girls who changed their eating to manage weight/shape engaged in more vaping the following year (β_T1-T2 = .05, β_T2-T3 =.05). Conversely, cisgender girls and boys with a higher vaping frequency reported more days of changing eating to manage weight/shape one year later (β_T1-T2 = .02 and .04, β_T2-T3 =.05 and .06).

Conclusions: The bidirectional relationship between vaping and weight-related eating behaviours underscores the value of addressing these habits as interconnected behaviors, informing the development of targeted public health policies, preventative measures, and intervention strategies to support health and reduce the adoption of vaping among adolescents.

Objective: We assessed alcohol product availability, sales, and prices among privatized off-premises alcohol sales in 42 US states and quantified sales among lower-priced products.

Method: We used NielsenIQ weekly retail scanner data from 28 license states (where alcohol sales are privatized) and 14 control states (where alcohol sales are partially privatized and partially government controlled, e.g., for distilled spirits)-collectively representing privatized off-premises alcohol sales in 42 US states from November 11, 2018-November 4, 2023. We descriptively analyzed the latest year (November 2022-November 2023) of alcohol product availability (number of unique products), standard drink price, and standard drink sales, and compared it to estimates in the earliest year (November 2018-November 2019). We quantified the sales market share of products priced at or below $0.50, $0.75, and $1.00 per standard drink.

Results: Overall, product availability increased from 2018-2019 to 2022-2023 among all alcohol types, ranging from +7.4% (beer) to +67.0% (ready-to-drink beverages [RTDs]), while sales decreased for beer (-8.0%) and wine (-10.7%) and increased for spirits (+7.4% [license states only]) and RTDs (+68.6%). The average standard drink price paid remained <$2.00 through 2023. During 2022-2023, in license states, 57.4% of sales were ≤$1.00 per standard drink; across all states, 23.3% of beer sales (13.0% of beer products), 28.7% of wine sales (7.4% of wine products), and 18.4% of RTDs sales (24.0% of RTDs products) were ≤$1.00 per standard drink.

Conclusions: Among 42 US states, a substantial portion of alcohol sales were among lower priced products.

Objective: International mobility and collaborations are a cornerstone of the academic career trajectory, as well as a pathway to better science. The aim of this article is to advocate for enhancing global connections among early career investigators to improve science and accelerate addiction research discovery. Drawing from the author's experiences, we provide specific recommendations to help addiction researchers create international exchange programs for early career investigators.

Methods: The program consisted of four key components: (1) pre-exchange participant matching of early career investigators at each institution, (2) individualized goal setting for participants, (3) a structured orientation program on the first day of the in-person exchange, and (4) two weeks of research-focused, in-person collaborations and networking activities. Quantitative and qualitative data are presented, including 2-year outcomes from the program (N=8).

Results: The exchange program had both immediate and sustained impacts on professional development and research productivity. Participants reported increased confidence in international collaboration, a broadened global perspective, and enhanced scholarly output, with all participants emphasizing the critical importance of in-person interaction. Two years post-exchange, participants reported a more than threefold increase in internationally co-authored publications, a newly awarded international grant, and the establishment of four new formal mentorship relationships. All participants reported a change in their research focus, scientific approach, or lab management practices due to the exchange program. Unexpected benefits included strengthened collaboration within home research teams and the emergence of broader institutional partnerships in both the U.S. and Australia.

Conclusion: Understanding and addressing addiction requires a global perspective, and engaging early career researchers in international exchange programs can foster lasting collaborations and encourage globally-focused research. Even short-term exchanges can be cost-effective in promoting long-term productivity in international addiction research.

Objective: Alcohol use disorder is highly prevalent with known associations to poor health and memory. Diet interventions are a useful tool that have the potential to help many, as they are relatively non-invasive and accessible. The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet that has been used for decades to reduce seizures in children with epilepsy. In the current study, the effects of 3 weeks of KD on alcohol use and anxiety, and post-alcohol anxiety, sociability and memory were assessed in C57BL/6J mice.

Method: In Experiment 1 and 1a, mice were allowed to drink alcohol for 8 weeks using the intermittent drinking in the dark paradigm. Across the last 3 weeks of drinking, mice were fed either KD or a standard chow diet and tested for performance in a Barnes maze. In Experiment 2, mice were fed either KD or standard diet for 3 weeks and observed for anxiety and social behaviors, and memory. Experiment 2a extended this work using a small number of male mice that were injected with alcohol for 1 week prior to behavioral assessment.

Results: Overall, our findings suggest a therapeutic effect of KD on alcohol consumption and post-alcohol deficits.

Conclusions: Benefits were independent of effects on generalized anxiety yet support a more specific effect of KD to increase exploration and reduce behavioral inhibition. This study did not investigate the neurobiology mediating these effects and future research for this is now needed.