Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs最新文献

Objective: Online and lab-based experiments examining the impact of alcohol labels typically test a one-time exposure to labels and assess short-term, non-behavioural outcomes. These studies do not simulate a real-world label dose or assess actual alcohol use. This pilot aimed to develop a new protocol for testing alcohol labels that better reflects real-world exposure by presenting labels on consumers' own alcohol products over time and assessing effects on several outcomes, including alcohol use.

Method: Forty alcohol consumers in Canada completed an online baseline survey, were randomized to one of two label conditions (Control: recycle label; Intervention: cancer warning label), mailed labels according to their assigned condition, and asked to affix one label to all alcohol containers in their home over the 29 days in February 2024. Online surveys assessed label effects at three follow-up points, and SMS texts were used to promote protocol adherence.

Results: The protocol had high adherence and retention, with no differences between conditions. Survey response rates remained high at follow-ups, ranging between 80%-100%. All participants (100%) said they were satisfied with the study and 94% would recommend to a friend. Preliminary label effectiveness results were promising - between baseline and Day 29, the mean number of standard drinks (SD) consumed in the past 7 days decreased in the intervention condition by -4.2SD (45%), and in the control by -0.3SD (3%).

Conclusions: Findings suggest this proof-of-principle protocol affixing labels on consumers' own alcohol products offers the potential for greater experimental control and real-world label dose than online or lab-based experiments.

Objective: Social media content featuring alcoholic beverages is posted and viewed by college students. Limited longitudinal research suggests that increased alcohol-related content (ARC) posting and exposure is associated with increased alcohol consumption among college students over time. Emerging evidence suggests this association may be bidirectional, with drinking predicting later ARC posting. The current study examined longitudinal bidirectional associations between alcohol consumption and: posting ARC (aim 1) and friend ARC exposure (aim 2).

Method: College students engaging in heavy or problematic drinking (N = 384; M_age = 20.04; 74.2% female; 79.6% White) completed four surveys (baseline, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month). Each survey assessed social media use (including ARC posting) and alcohol use, along with ARC posting behaviors of their social network (i.e., important friends).

Results: Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models revealed significant large associations only at the within-subjects level for posting ARC, but significant medium-large between- and within-subjects associations for ARC exposure. Within-subjects, greater alcohol consumption predicted posting 1 month later, and posting at the 3-month follow-up predicted increased drinking at 6-months (aim 1). Between-subjects, individuals who reported greater social network ARC exposure were more likely to report greater alcohol consumption. Within-subjects, greater-than-average ARC exposure at 1-month predicted decreased alcohol consumption at 3-months (aim 2).

Conclusions: Results suggest the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol posting (self and ARC exposure) is complex and not necessarily bidirectional, with associations between posting and drinking fluctuating within subjects, while between- and within-subjects associations were observed for exposure and drinking. Associations between posting and drinking vary within individuals over time, while associations between exposure and drinking exist for groups, indicating the more people are exposed, the more alcohol they consume.

Objective: We investigate the impact of state level COVID-19 related policies on alcohol sales in US.

Method: We use monthly Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) alcohol sales data during COVID-19 for 13 states from January 2020 to August 2021. Event study and difference-in-differences methods are used to investigate the effects of COVID-19 related policies on alcohol sales.

Results: Bans on mass gatherings led to an increase in alcohol sales per capita (ranging from 6.9% (p=0.063) to 11.1% (p=0.095)). School closures reduced alcohol sales per capita by 6.8% (p=0.149). Allowing bars to sell alcoholic beverage for takeout or curbside pickup increased alcohol sales per capita by 6.7% (p=0.018), while same policy for restaurants reduced alcohol sales per capita by 5.2% (p=0.038).

Conclusions: We document that while not all policies exerted an effect, some did demonstrate a significant impact on alcohol sales during the COVID-19 pandemic in US.

Objective: Safer supply programs are a novel response to the ongoing overdose crisis in Canada--providing people at high overdose risk with a safer alternative to the highly toxic unregulated drug supply. The MySafe program provides pharmaceutical-grade opioids to participants via biometric dispensing machines. This study examines program-related goals and related outcomes across time.

Method: Longitudinal, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 study participants at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Interviews covered program functionality, experiences, outcomes, and reasons for enrollment and engagement. Baseline and follow-up interviews were compared to explore changes over time, including the effectiveness of the MySafe program in supporting individuals' achievement of their stated goals.

Results: Most participants reported similar goals at their baseline and follow-up interviews. The most common goal for initiating and staying in the program was to stop or reduce using street-purchased drugs, followed by abstinence and wanting to stop injecting drugs. Several participants described goals addressing issues related to structural vulnerability (e.g., improving living situations). At follow-up, some participants reported reducing street-purchased drug use, no participants reported abstinence, and all those wanting to stop injecting drugs reported achieving their goals.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight a strong desire among study participants to be separated from the unpredictable street drug supply. Participants reported variable success in attaining their stated goals. However, our results demonstrate the need for such programs to better attend to participant goals, especially those affected by structural vulnerability, that can be supported with wrap-around social and health care supports.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence and overlap of secondhand harms from other people's use of alcohol, cannabis, opioids, or other drugs and examine sociodemographic and other correlates of these secondhand harms.

Method: This cross-sectional analysis used data from 7,799 respondents (51.6% female; 12.9% Black, 15.6% Hispanic/Latiné; mean age = 47.6 years) in the 2020 U.S. National Alcohol Survey. Secondhand harms included family/marriage difficulties, traffic accidents, vandalism, physical harm, and financial difficulties. Weighted prevalence estimates provided nationally representative estimates of these harms. Logistic regression assessed associations between individual characteristics and secondhand harms.

Results: Lifetime prevalence of secondhand harms from alcohol, cannabis, opioids, or other drugs was 34.2%, 5.5%, 7.6%, and 8.3%, respectively. There was substantial overlap among lifetime harms: Almost 30% of those reporting secondhand alcohol harms also reported secondhand drug harms. Significant correlates of secondhand substance harms included female sex (alcohol, other drugs); White (alcohol, opioids), American Indian/Alaska Native (opioids), and Black (cannabis) race/ethnicity; and separated/divorced/widowed marital status (opioids). Those reporting a family history of alcohol problems had significantly higher odds of reporting secondhand harms across substance types. Individuals who reported frequent cannabis use had higher odds of reporting secondhand alcohol and opioid harms compared to those with no cannabis use (aOR = 1.55; aOR = 2.38) but lower odds of reporting secondhand cannabis harms (aOR = 0.51).

Conclusions: Although less prevalent than secondhand alcohol harms, 14% of participants reported secondhand harms from someone else's drug use and frequently experienced secondhand harms attributed to multiple substances. Population-focused interventions are needed to reduce the total burden of alcohol and other drug use.

Objective: Existing binge drinking reduction interventions such as brief intervention and personalized normative feedback have shown modest impact. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility (recruitment and retention rates), acceptability, and preliminary efficacy testing of a short-term "Know Your Numbers" (KYN) intervention on motivating young adults to reduce their engagement in binge drinking.

Method: Young adults (N = 94, mean age = 21 years) with a history of binge drinking received a 4-week KYN intervention that included information about their U.S. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (USAUDIT) scores and the alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol (PEth) level in relationship to different risk levels of alcohol use. At baseline and 4 weeks, measures included USAUDIT scores, PEth levels, motivation (Alcohol Contemplation Ladder), and other drinking measures. Focus groups were conducted at 4 weeks for feedback on the KYN approach.

Results: The recruitment rate was 82.26% (retention rate = 76.9%). At 4 weeks, there was a 62% increase in contemplation scores (indicating higher motivation), a decrease in USAUDIT scores, and an increase in the percentage of participants classified as low-risk drinkers. No differences were found between baseline and 4-week PEth levels or number of binge episodes. Focus group results revealed satisfaction with the KYN approach but the need to understand how PEth levels and USAUDIT scores corresponded to health consequences and alcohol use levels.

Conclusions: Results from this pilot study support the acceptability and potential use of a KYN approach in helping young adults understand their drinking levels.

Objective: Some claims on alcohol labels highlight virtuous aspects of brands or products, including in health-, eco-, and cause-oriented domains (including charity partnerships, or ethical or humanitarian certifications). This virtue marketing may create a "halo" whereby consumers generalize from specific attributes to a more favorable overall appraisal of the product, brand, or even alcohol or the alcohol industry in general. This study aims to describe the prevalence of and trends over time in virtue marketing on the packaging of new alcohol (including lower- and zero-alcohol) products on the Australian market.

Method: Records of 4,024 new alcohol products released in Australia between 2013 and 2023 were extracted from Mintel Global New Products Database. Health-, eco-, and cause-oriented claims on packaging were summarized across product types and time, and co-occurrence between claims was assessed.

Results: Virtue marketing appeared on 36.5% of new alcohol products, of which health-oriented claims were most common (32.5%), followed by eco- (6.3%) and cause-oriented claims (2.0%). The prevalence of each claim category and virtue marketing overall significantly increased over time (each p < .001) and varied by product type. New alcohol products displayed as many as eight different types of claims, and all claims tended to co-occur with at least two others.

Conclusions: Virtue marketing is prevalent on new alcohol products in Australia and has recently increased. Although product packaging can provide useful consumer information, health-, eco-, and cause-oriented claims may exploit consumers' motivation to make healthy, sustainable, and socially responsible choices despite alcohol being detrimental in these areas.

Objective: Social environment is a key determinant of substance use, but cannabis-related social network analysis is not common, in part because of the assessment burden of comprehensive egocentric social network analysis.

Method: The current pre-registered secondary analysis assessed the psychometric properties (i.e., convergent, criterion-related, incremental validity) of the Brief Cannabis Social Density Assessment (B-CaSDA) in a cross-sectional sample of adults who use cannabis (N = 310) using a survey-based design. The B-CaSDA assesses the quantity and frequency of cannabis use for the respondent's four closest (nonparent) relationships.

Results: Ego cannabis use severity was elevated for each additional person who used cannabis at all or daily in the individual's social network. B-CaSDA indices (i.e., frequency, quantity, total score) were positively correlated with cannabis consumption, cannabis use severity indicators, and established risk factors for harmful cannabis use. B-CaSDA indices also discriminated between those above and below a clinical cutoff on the Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test-Revised (CUDIT-R). Finally, in omnibus models that included common risk factors for cannabis use severity, the B-CaSDA quantity index contributed additional variance when predicting CUDIT-R total score, and B-CaSDA frequency contributed additional variance in predicting the CUDIT-R quantity-frequency subscale.

Conclusions: The results suggest that the B-CaSDA has the potential to expand social network research on cannabis use and misuse by increasing its assessment feasibility in diverse designs.

Objective: Substance use, including drug and alcohol misuse, is associated with myriad health conditions, including a higher risk for HIV infection. Although preliminary evidence suggests that higher levels of relationship functioning can buffer against the deleterious health consequences of discrimination on mental health broadly, such protective associations have been understudied with respect to alcohol and drug use. The topic is particularly understudied among Latino sexual minority men even though they are at greater risk for problematic substance use behaviors and are likely to experience multiple forms of discrimination (e.g., racism, homophobia).

Method: To address this gap in the literature, we sampled 95 predominantly Latino sexual minority male couples to assess their drinking and drug use behaviors, relationship functioning, and experiences of discrimination. We used Actor-Partner Interdependence models to test our hypotheses.

Results: We found that having a partner who experienced discrimination and higher partner reports of relationship functioning buffered against the negative relationship between own experiences of discrimination and drug use, but not problematic drinking.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that higher relationship functioning serves as a buffer between the negative ramifications of discrimination on drug use, but not problematic drinking. We explicate implications for policy and practice to facilitate well-being among coupled Latino sexual minority men.