Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs最新文献

Objective: Alcohol involvement is declining among U.S. adolescents; however, studies examining population-level trends in alcohol involvement among females and males from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds are scarce. Therefore, the current study examined alcohol involvement from 2002 to 2019 among Hispanic, Black, and White U.S. adolescent females and males.

Method: Data were from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, years 2002-2019. Participants were between 12 and 17 years old and Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, or non-Hispanic White. Annualized change estimates within each subgroup were analyzed separately for the following four alcohol variables: (a) lifetime alcohol use; (b) age at alcohol initiation; (c) past-year drinking days; and (d) respondent's perceived risk of alcohol misuse.

Results: Lifetime alcohol use decreased for all groups, and the decrease was strongest for Hispanic males. Age at alcohol initiation similarly increased for Hispanic and White females and males, with no change in age at alcohol initiation for Black adolescents. Past-year drinking days declined for all groups but was not significant for Black females. Perceiving alcohol misuse as a "great risk" increased only for Hispanic males and females.

Conclusions: Although alcohol involvement is declining among U.S. adolescents, results from this study highlight that engaging with alcohol is normative among many adolescent groups. Also, when considering sex as well as race and ethnicity, there are important distinctions in patterns of decline in alcohol involvement that should be accounted for to inform future research and screening.

The rescheduling of cannabis from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's current most restrictive (Schedule I) designation would be an important step for cannabis research and researchers. We are researchers who have experience with cannabis research in preclinical, clinical, and policy domains and who represent a range of social science disciplines (e.g., Psychology, History). In this commentary, we share our perspectives on the history, policies, challenges, and benefits of moving cannabis from the current Schedule I designation (similar to heroin) to the less restrictive Schedule III (similar to ketamine). The rescheduling has the potential to contribute in multiple ways to research on cannabis' effects on the brain and behavior, policies for regulating medicinal and recreational use, and the use of cannabis to treat health conditions such as chronic pain. Although scientific evidence supports this rescheduling, there are challenges and pushbacks to keeping the regulations as they currently exist. Although "the devil is in the details," we present our reasons to advocate for improving access to cannabis for research.

Objective: Despite protective behavioral strategies (PBS) being an important part of alcohol-prevention programs, use of PBS is suboptimal, and research is needed to determine factors associated with the use and non-use of PBS. The present study examined daily-level associations between situational familiarity (i.e., familiarity with locations and people) and the use of alcohol-related PBS among adolescents and young adults.

Method: Participants (analysis n = 564, 55.1% female, 45.2% White, non-Hispanic, ages 15 to 25 years, M = 21.07 years [SD = 2.79]) were part of a longitudinal ecological momentary assessment burst study on cognitions and alcohol use. Mixed-effects Poisson models were used to analyze data for engagement in PBS (i.e., serious harm reduction, stopping/limiting, and manner-of-drinking PBS).

Results: Within-person results indicated that when participants had elevated (i.e., higher than their own average) familiarity with their location, they were less likely to use serious harm-reduction PBS (rate ratio [RR] = 0.94, p < .001) and stopping/limiting PBS (RR = 0.95, p < .001). Results showed that on drinking days with elevated familiarity with people, individuals were more likely to use serious harm-reduction PBS (RR = 1.03, p = .01). There were no significant daily-level associations between familiarity with people or location and manner-of-drinking PBS.

Conclusions: The study suggests that PBS use, particularly for serious harm-reduction and stopping/limiting strategies, varies among adolescents and young adults based on familiarity with location and people. Alcohol-prevention interventions, including just-in-time interventions, should consider how to promote PBS use, particularly in familiar locations and with less familiar people.

Objective: Inequalities in alcohol-related harm may arise partly from differences in drinking practices between population groups. One underresearched practice associated with harm is consuming alcohol alone. We identify sociodemographic characteristics associated with drinking alone and the occasion-level characteristics associated with occasions when people drink alone.

Method: A cross-sectional analysis of 1-week drinking diaries collected between 2015 and 2019 was conducted using event-level data on 271,738 drinking occasions reported by 83,952 adult drinkers in Great Britain. Our two dependent variables were a binary indicator of reporting at least one solitary drinking occasion in the diary week at the individual level and a binary indicator of drinking alone at the occasion level (event level).

Results: Individual-level characteristics associated with solitary drinking were being a man (odds ratio [OR] = 1.88, 95% CI [1.80, 1.96]), age greater than 50 years (OR = 2.60, 95% CI [2.40, 2.81]), not in a relationship (OR = 3.39, 95% CI [3.20, 3.59]), living alone (OR = 2.51, 95% CI [2.37, 2.66]), and being a high-risk drinker (OR = 1.54, 95% CI [1.52, 1.59]). Occasion-level characteristics associated with solitary drinking were that they were more likely to occur in the off-trade (OR = 3.08, 95% CI [2.95, 3.21]), Monday-Thursday (OR = 1.36, 95% CI [1.27, 1.47]), and after 10 P.M. (OR = 1.36, 95% CI [1.27, 1.47]) controlling for geographic region and the month the interview took place.

Conclusions: Characteristics of solitary drinking largely align with characteristics we associated with drinking problems. Those who partake in at least one solitary drinking occasion are overall more likely to consume alcohol at risky levels; however, the number of drinks consumed on each occasion was lower during a solitary drinking occasion.

Objective: Previous research has demonstrated different cannabis-related outcomes depending on the goal of cannabis use (i.e., recreational, medical, a hybrid of both), underscoring the need to identify variables associated with specific goals of use, particularly in understudied populations.

Method: This report used data from a national survey of menopausal individuals using nonprobability sampling. Respondents reporting current regular (≥1x/month) cannabis use (medical n = 35; recreational n = 61; and hybrid n = 102) were included in multivariate logistic regression analyses examining demographic, clinical (e.g., menopause-related symptomatology), and cannabis-related variables associated with the goal of cannabis use.

Results: Overall, an increased number of medical conditions was associated with medical and hybrid use relative to recreational use (ps ≤ .047), and greater menopause-related symptomatology was associated with medical relative to hybrid use (p = .001). Lower education level was associated with hybrid relative to recreational use (p = .010). Lastly, more varied modes of use was associated with hybrid use relative to medical and recreational use (ps ≤ .001).

Conclusions: Results suggest that medical and hybrid consumers with more medical conditions and more severe clinical symptoms that are not sufficiently alleviated by conventional treatments may be more open to cannabinoid-based therapies. In addition, because a lower education level is often associated with recreational cannabis use, results suggest that hybrid consumers may begin as recreational consumers who then expand their use for medical purposes. Further, more varied modes of use for hybrid consumers may reflect different product selections based on the goal of use. Future research should investigate the etiology of hybrid cannabis use and predictors of long-term outcomes associated with goals of use.

Objective: Despite an abundance of public discourse about the opioid crisis in the media, there is little research characterizing opioid-related content on TikTok, a popular video-based social media platform. This study sought to examine how opioids are portrayed on TikTok.

Methods: This study used mixed-methods to analyze top opioid-related posts marked with the hashtag "#opioids" collected in May 2023. Holistic coding was used to topically categorize multimedia content in posts and to quantify the frequency of mentioning opioid-related content areas (eg. overdose, pain, fentanyl). Template analysis methods were then used to develop themes.

Results: 115 posts were analyzed. The most frequently used opioid-related topic codes include prescription opioids (58.3% of posts), pain (47.0%), overdose (35.7%), and fentanyl (34.8%). Posts were most commonly about challenges to accessing prescription opioids for pain management (37.4%), opioid policy (36.5%), and negative consequences of using opioids (32.2%). Qualitative analysis yielded themes about the potential dangers associated with using opioids, treatment and recovery from opioid use disorder, and barriers to obtaining prescription opioids for pain management.

Conclusions: This study revealed polarizing opinions within opioid-related content on TikTok. The two main stances, dangers of non-medical opioid use and advocacy for availability of prescription opioids for pain management, represent nationwide tensions between the opioid and chronic pain crises. The vast audience TikTok garners presents an opportunity for disseminating opioid education, harm reduction strategies, and opioid use disorder treatment options that were largely absent among the posts analyzed.

Objective: More than half of United States college students are harmed by the drinkers around them. If findings from research on adults generalize to college students, then there will be consequences associated with these alcohol-related harms to others (AHTOs). This study aimed to determine whether harms from others' drinking were associated with key academic and mental health indicators of the college experience.

Method: Data were from a probability-based sample of college students (n=1,822, 64.9% cisfemale, 68.6% white, 11.3% Black, 15.6% Hispanic/Latinx) conducted Oct-Nov 2021. Predictors included domains of five alcohol-related harms to others (AHTOs): harassment, physical, sexual, academic, and babysitting drinkers. Six binary outcomes included 1) Satisfied with college, 2) Satisfied with academic performance, 3) grade point average (GPA) ≥ 3.0, 4) Depression, 5) Suicidal ideation, and 6) Mental distress.

Results: Harassment AHTOs were associated with lower college satisfaction (aOR=0.54, 95% CI=0.38, 0.84) and suicidal ideation (aOR=1.74, 95% CI=1.08, 2.82). Physical AHTOs were associated with lower odds of academic satisfaction (aOR=0.33, 95% CI=0.19, 0.59) and GPA ≥ 3.0 (aOR=0.42, 95% CI=0.22, 0.83). Academic AHTOs were associated with lower odds of being satisfied with college (aOR=0.27, 95% CI=0.14, 0.52) and one's academic performance (aOR=0.27, 95% CI=0.14, 0.50) and higher odds of mental distress (aOR=2.27, 95% CI=1.31, 3.94). Finally, sexual AHTOs were associated with higher odds of depression (aOR=2.77, 95% CI=1.34, 5.77).

Conclusions: AHTOs are associated with mental health and academic challenges on college campuses. Longitudinal studies should investigate whether these associations persist over time.

Background: The I³ Model posits that men are more likely to engage in sexual aggression (SA) when instigation (e.g., their masculinity is threatened) and impellance are high (e.g., high trait anger), and inhibition is low (e.g., alcohol intoxication). This study investigates the independent and interactive effects of trait anger and acute intoxication on men's SA propensity after exposure to a masculinity threat.

Methods: Cisgender heterosexual men (n = 120, aged 21-30) completed a self-report measure of trait anger, were randomly assigned to consume an alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverage and engaged in the Sexual Imposition Paradigm (SIP) which assessed laboratory-based SA propensity toward a female confederate. Prior to the SIP, all men's masculinity were threatened via feedback from a personality test which indicated that they were less masculine than other men.

Results: The interaction between trait anger and beverage condition was significant. When intoxicated SA propensity increased among men with higher trait anger, whereas for sober men, their SA propensity decreased with higher trait anger.

Discussion: Consistent with the I³ Model, individual differences in trait anger may be a critical risk factor for men's SA under the influence of alcohol. These findings have implications for intervention programming. Anger often arises as a response to feeling vulnerable, such as when men's masculinity is threatened. Thus, the integration of established, evidenced-based approaches to regulate anger into SA interventions may be a promising approach to reduce SA, particularly among men who have consumed alcohol.