Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs最新文献

Aim: This cross-sectional study explores profiles of community-residing Norwegian older adults (aged 62-95 years) in relation to their personally expressed motives for alcohol use. It specifically investigates drinking motives as they uniquely characterise alcohol consumers reporting problem and non-problem drinking assessed using the Drinking Problem Index (DPI). Methods: Two-step cluster analysis was used to delineate subgroups of alcohol consumers on seven drinking motivation variables, together with DPI score. The clusters were evaluated by gender, physical health and psychological health status. Results: Four clusters of alcohol consumers were identified in relation to drinking motives: Low motivated drinkers, Ambivalent drinkers, Enhancement drinkers, and Coping drinkers. For one subgroup, a strong reliance on alcohol to cope with negative feelings was most relevant to both non-problem and problem drinkers. For another subgroup, enjoying the effects of alcohol, but non-reliance on alcohol to cope with negative mood were associated with reporting drinking problems. Ambivalent drinkers reported overall low satisfaction with mental health. Very poor physical and mental health were more prevalent in men than in women characterised as Coping drinkers. Predominantly mental health status supported distinctiveness of delineated clusters. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the classification approach to profiling of characteristics of alcohol consumers based on their motivations to drink may have a potential utility in human care settings to identify individuals who incur or may be at risk of developing alcohol-related problems in later life, and those who are not.

Aim: The study sought to develop an understanding of Australian first-year university residential college students' alcohol consumption, their experience of alcohol-related harms and their alcohol knowledge. Method: Students were surveyed during Orientation Week in 2015 (N = 84, men 36%) and again in 2017 (N = 97, men = 45%) using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to measure alcohol consumption, and purpose-designed measures of alcohol-related harms and alcohol knowledge. Results: The mean AUDIT score across the two cohorts was 10.79, placing these first-year college residents at much riskier consumption levels than their Australian undergraduate and international peers. Three-quarters were consuming alcohol at hazardous/harmful levels. They reported frequent occurrence of alcohol-related harms and, given the higher levels of drinking, these were for the most part more pronounced than in other studies: vomiting (73%), memory loss (55%), regretting their actions when drinking (41%), not having enough money because of money spent on alcohol (31%), doing something dangerous just for fun (29%), being injured (27%), poor performance at work (22%), poor physical health (21%), loss of consciousness (20%), and having sexual encounters they later regretted (19%). Poor knowledge of standard drink measures, particularly in relation to blood alcohol concentration, was also indicated. Conclusions: The study highlights the worrying occurrence of hazardous/harmful drinking in Australian first-year university residential college students and high levels of alcohol-related harms experienced by these residents. It also highlights poor alcohol knowledge and the need for early intervention prior to and within university college residences to minimise harm.

Background and aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed life circumstances for adolescents worldwide. With schools being closed and regular activities being cancelled, gaming and social media use are activities that might gain in importance. There is a risk that these online behaviours have negative effects on other important activities, such as being physically active, sleeping, and studying, as well as general well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on gaming and social media use, and its effects on the well-being of adolescents. Methods: A total of 1232 adolescents (82.5% female) participated in an anonymous web survey containing questions on gaming, social media use, and perceived negative consequences of gaming and social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results were analysed with a quasi-Poisson regression model. Results: The results indicated an increase in gaming and social media use, which was associated with negative consequences and perceived well-being. A majority of adolescents reported that they used social media more than they felt comfortable with. There were large differences between boys and girls, with girls being more negatively affected across measures. Discussion: The increase in gaming and social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic might have negative effects on the well-being of adolescents, and on other activities that are important to health. Our interpretation of the findings is that gaming and social media use might partly function as coping mechanisms to deal with stress and/or boredom resulting from COVID-19 restrictions. There is a risk that these coping strategies become maladaptive over time. Conclusions: The restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in an increase in the amount of time adolescents spend gaming and on social media, which might have negative effects on their well-being. This study highlights the urgent need to consider adaptive and healthy coping strategies for adolescents given the pandemic may mean that daily living could continue to be altered in the near future.

Aims: Mobile gaming is a dominant form of gaming, known for its portability and for game characteristics that motivate continuous play and spending. Such involvement may also turn problematic, but research on problem gaming (PG) has tended to focus on non-mobile forms of gaming. The study was based on a cross-sectional observational design where students in upper secondary schools were recruited to a survey about mobile gaming. The age of the respondents ranged from 16 to 23 years (n = 519; 52.4% men; mean age = 17.2 years, SD = 1.1). Methods: We examined (1) gaming frequency, gaming contexts, and in-game spending in relation to PG; (2) gaming context in relation to academic achievement and sleep quality; and (3) PG according to gaming platform (i.e., playing on mobile, console/computer, or mixed platforms) with Kruskal-Wallis tests, chi-square tests and Spearman rank-order correlations. Results: PG was positively associated with mobile gaming hours per week (η² = .02, p < .01), minutes per session (η² = .03, p < .001), making in-app purchases (Cramer's V = .15, p < .05), and gaming during homework (Cramer's V = .14, p < .05). Statistically significant associations were found between mobile gaming in bed and later sleep midpoint for weekdays (r_s  = .18, p < .001) and weekends (r_s  = .11, p < .05). Mixed platform gamers had increased likelihood of PG, console/computer gamers had increased likelihood of being at risk for PG, and mobile gamers had lower risk for PG (Cramer's V = .18, p < .001). Conclusion: Future studies should include specific measures of mobile gaming as it appears implicated in problem gaming, albeit to a lesser degree than console and computer gaming.