Psychology of Addictive Behaviors最新文献

Objective: Although interventions exist for couples with alcohol use problems, web-based adaptations are in their early stages. Online programs for general relationship distress sharing elements with couple therapies for alcohol use may be an effective adjunctive intervention even without directly targeting alcohol use. This study evaluated whether two online interventions for general relationship distress decreased alcohol use and whether improvements in individual and relationship-level mechanisms contributed to reductions in alcohol use during and after the intervention.

Method: Couples (N = 248) with at least one partner with problematic alcohol use were randomly assigned to the OurRelationship, e-Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program program, or a waitlist control group. Over 6 months, couples repeatedly completed self-report measures on their alcohol use and five mechanisms: negative communication, perceived criticism, anger, anxious, and depressed mood.

Results: Couples in both programs (vs. waitlist couples) had greater improvements in alcohol use and all mechanisms except for anger. Improvements in mechanisms were associated with improvements in alcohol use during the intervention, but not the maintenance of reduced alcohol use during follow-up.

Conclusions: Results suggest that couples experienced benefits despite the absence of content tailored specifically to alcohol use. Since improvements through the mechanisms occurred only during the intervention, evaluating the impact of online relationship program on other areas of functioning, such as community connectedness may prove useful in understanding sustained reductions in alcohol use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Persons engaging in illicit drug use, particularly injection drug use, are often overlooked in resilience literature. Understanding factors that foster resilience within this population can support cessation from, and prevent relapse to, illicit drug use. We examined whether coping strategies are associated with short-term cessation and relapse among persons who have injected drugs.

Method: Data come from a community-recruited cohort of people who have a history of injection drug use from Baltimore, Maryland. We examined two subsamples of visit pairs conducted from 1988 to 2020: (1) where at the first visit, participants reported past-6-month illicit drug use (684 participants, 8,783 visits), and (2) at the first visit, participants reported no past-6-month illicit drug use (516 participants, 7,872 visits). Logistic regression with generalized estimating equations was used to estimate the associations of 14 self-reported lifetime coping strategies with (1) short-term cessation and (2) relapse to illicit drug use.

Results: Among persons reporting recent illicit drug use, self-reported use of substances to cope, denial, and behavioral disengagement were associated with decreased odds of short-term cessation, whereas use of prayer or meditation and emotional support were associated with increased odds of short-term cessation. Among persons reporting no recent illicit drug use, lifetime use of substances to cope, denial, and self-blame were associated with increased odds of relapse, whereas lifetime use of active coping was associated with decreased odds of relapse.

Conclusions: Findings demonstrate coping strategies that may be similarly and uniquely associated with short-term cessation from, versus relapse to, illicit drug use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Suicide and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are entwined public health crises; yet, no research on associations between suicide ideation and AUD treatment outcomes exists within dual-diagnosis AUD and posttraumatic stress disorder samples, a group with elevated rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors compared to either diagnosis alone. This study examined associations between suicide ideation and alcohol-related outcomes during receipt of cognitive behavioral therapy for AUD.

Method: Data were drawn from a 12-week randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for AUD combined with N-acetylcysteine or placebo among 182 adults with AUD and posttraumatic stress disorder. Multivariable mixed logistic regression models were used to identify associations between suicide ideation and AUD-related variables (i.e., craving severity, total standard drinks, average drinks on drinking days, percent of total days drinking, percent of heavy drinking days) assessed weekly during treatment.

Results: During treatment, the odds of suicide ideation increased 1.16 times for each one-unit increase in craving severity, 3.13 times for each one-unit increase in percent of heavy drinking days, and 5.04 times for each one-unit increase in percent of total days drinking. No significant associations were observed between the odds of suicidal ideation and the number of total standard drinks or average drinks on days drinking.

Conclusions: Suicide ideation is more likely to occur during weeks of heightened craving and during weeks of a greater percentage of time spent drinking alcohol, suggesting a need for continued suicide assessment throughout the course of outpatient AUD treatment, particularly for individuals with AUD and posttraumatic stress disorder. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Cannabis use is common among U.S. military veterans, particularly those experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), poor sleep, and elevated stress. While often used to self-manage these symptoms, the impact of cannabis on day-to-day symptomology remains unclear. This study examined the daily associations among cannabis use, PTSD symptoms, perceived stress, and sleep quality using intensive longitudinal data.

Method: Seventy-four recently separated U.S. veterans (age = 33.5 years; 80% male; 61% non-Hispanic White) who endorsed past-month cannabis use and elevated PTSD symptoms completed a 3-month daily diary study. Participants provided 4,307 person-days of data via a mobile app. Measures included daily cannabis use (hours high), PTSD symptoms, perceived stress, and sleep quality. Dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM) was used to estimate within-person lagged and same-day associations, adjusting for relevant covariates.

Results: Day-to-day analyses revealed that elevated PTSD symptoms and poor sleep quality each predicted greater perceived stress the following day. Greater number of hours high was associated with less perceived stress the following day. Perceived stress, in turn, predicted both higher PTSD symptoms and poorer sleep quality. In post hoc analysis, stress emerged as a significant mechanism of change in the day-to-day lagged model. In particular, we show greater cannabis use is linked to improved sleep and PTSD symptoms through lower perceived stress.

Conclusion: Cannabis may offer temporary relief and appears to interrupt the day-to-day cycle linking PTSD, stress, and poor sleep. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The opioid epidemic continues to devastate communities throughout the United States; however, those in need of life-saving care for opioid misuse report many barriers to accessing and initiating treatment. Opioid-related stigmatization and racial biases undermine the provision of high-quality health care, reducing the likelihood of treatment-seeking behavior among those with opioid use disorder. While people experiencing opioid-related harms such as overdose frequently present to emergency departments, an experimental test examining attitudes of emergency department personnel in regard to the influence of patient racial background on opioid use disorder status has not been conducted.

Method: We recruited emergency health care professionals (N = 152) to assess attitudes toward hypothetical patients via a case vignette study. Participants were presented with three vignettes in randomized order, each depicting a medical/psychiatric condition requiring emergency care (i.e., opioid overdose, psychosis, and chest pain). The race of the hypothetical patient was examined as a between-subjects factor, with participants randomly assigned to receive a set of White-presenting or Black-presenting patients. Participants provided ratings of preference and positive regard for each condition.

Results: Positive regard was significantly lower for patients presenting with opioid overdose and psychosis, compared to chest pain, and for White-presenting versus Black-presenting patients. A significant interaction between condition and patient race was not detected.

Conclusions: Stigma-reduction interventions for emergency care providers treating patients with opioid-related conditions are critical to ensure that this at-risk group receives life-saving care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Reductions in alcohol use are associated with improved mental and physical health. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may hamper drinking reductions via drinking to cope with symptoms. Using nationally representative data in those with trauma exposure, we aimed to determine whether PTSD symptoms were associated with (a) the World Health Organization risk drinking levels (WHO RDL) and (b) WHO RDL change over 3 years.

Method: We used baseline (2001-2002) and 3-year follow-up (2004-2005) National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions data, including PTSD diagnosis, WHO RDL (abstinence, low, moderate, high, and very high risk based on mean drinks per day), and WHO RDL change (increased, one-, two-, three-level reduction, or reduced to abstinence). Multinomial logistic regression models tested study aims.

Results: PTSD was associated with high-risk (OR = 1.39, p = .040) and very-high-risk drinking (OR = 2.09, p < .001) compared with low-risk drinking (n = 31,638). Baseline PTSD symptoms (retrospectively reported at the follow-up assessment) were associated with greater odds of increasing WHO RDLs over 3 years among those with initial low-risk drinking (OR = 1.36, p = .015; n = 17,948) and lower odds of reducing WHO RDLs among those with initial high-risk (OR = 0.40, p = .026; n = 648) or very-high-risk (OR = 0.21, p < .002; n = 678) drinking levels.

Conclusions: PTSD is associated with high-risk drinking, as well as increased and persistent problematic alcohol use over time. As such, PTSD should be considered and addressed in efforts to prevent or reduce risky alcohol use among those with high-risk drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Reductions in World Health Organization (WHO) risk drinking levels have been used to capture nonabstinent reductions in drinking in the general population and in clinical trials. We examined mandated college students' reductions in WHO risk drinking levels 1 month postintervention, whether reductions were maintained at 5- to 6- and 12-month follow-ups and whether maintenance to 12 months predicted better alcohol-related outcomes. We also explored sex differences throughout.

Method: The sample consisted of nonabstinent mandated students who received a brief motivational intervention (N = 816). Sex-specific WHO risk levels were calculated from drinks per drinking day at baseline and follow-ups. Additional measures of alcohol use and consequences were assessed at baseline and 12-month follow-up.

Results: Most participants (61%) did not initiate reductions in drinking risk level by 1 month follow-up. Of those who achieved at least a one-level reduction, approximately 60% maintained this change at 5-6 and 12 months. Further evidencing maintenance, 1-month reductions predicted an approximately 500% increase in the odds of at least a one-level reduction at each follow-up. Finally, those who failed to maintain at least a one-level reduction to 12 months and those who successfully maintained change were generally similar at baseline. However, by 12 months, those who failed to maintain reduced drinking drank more and experienced more consequences than those who maintained changes. There were few sex differences across all results.

Conclusions: Reductions in WHO risk drinking levels hold promise for quantifying meaningful, individual-level initiation and maintenance of reduced drinking among mandated students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Card packs are physical products providing random content that companies rely on to monetize trading or collectible card games. Loot boxes are equivalent digital products inside video games that can similarly be bought to obtain randomized rewards. Both products are psychologically similar to gambling because the player can "win" by obtaining rare and valuable rewards or alternatively "lose" by obtaining nonvaluable rewards. Loot box spending has been repeatedly and reliably linked to problem gambling. However, the link between card pack spending and gambling has been little studied.

Method: We recruited card game players living in English-speaking Western countries (N = 1,961) to assess the links between card pack and loot box spending on one hand and problem gambling and mental health outcomes on the other.

Results: Spending money on physical card packs (r = 0.15), loot boxes (r = 0.31), and virtual card packs (a specific type of loot boxes found in a specific genre of card-based video games; r = 0.22) were all linked to problem gambling but at markedly different strengths. Spending money on all these gambling-like products were not associated with negative mental health. Spending money on certain subcategories of loot boxes differs from overall spending.

Conclusions: The current legal definitions of "gambling" in many countries should be modernized using scientific evidence: Presently, the law (if properly enforced) would regulate products that are less strongly correlated with problem gambling and therefore arguably less potentially harmful (e.g., physical card packs), but fails to regulate arguably more harmful products that are more strongly correlated with problem gambling (e.g., loot boxes). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The proliferation of gambling advertising has raised concerns about its effects on gambling behavior, particularly among vulnerable populations such as highest risk gamblers. This study examines the influence of gambling advertising on attitudes and intentions to gamble on a large sample of gamblers in France.

Method: We used an online questionnaire in a cross-sectional design, with data collected between February 15 and April 30, 2021. Participants were recruited through a single recruitment channel, namely the client mailing list of the Française des Jeux, resulting in a final sample consisting of 1,334 participants (62% male, 38% female, < 1% other) with a mean age of 41.37 years (SD = 15.07). Participants completed validated questionnaires, including the Canadian Problem Gambling Index, advertisement recall, measures of impulsivity, and cognitive distortions. Exposure to responsible-gambling messages was recorded descriptively and not manipulated.

Results: Results indicate that exposure to gambling advertising was significantly associated with more positive participants' attitudes toward gambling and their intentions to engage in gambling activities. Highest risk gamblers were more susceptible to the influence of advertising, showing higher recall of advertisements and greater likelihood of gambling after exposure.

Conclusions: The study highlights the urgent need for regulatory action to limit exposure of vulnerable populations to gambling advertising and formulate strategies to mitigate gambling-related harm. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Objectively verified reductions in cocaine use may be a more viable treatment target compared to complete abstinence. However, few studies have examined the associated health benefits of this change. This study assessed how quality-of-life outcomes (psychological functioning, social functioning, sleep) change with reductions in cocaine-positive urine drug screens.

Method: Participants (n = 107) with cocaine use disorder enrolled in a 12-week contingency management trial and were randomly assigned to high-value, low-value, or noncontingent control groups. Quality of life was measured at predetermined intervals over the course of the trial. Linear mixed models disaggregated the proportion of cocaine-negative urine screens into between-subject (i.e., a participant's average use across the trial) and within-subject (i.e., a participant's deviation from their average) components to separately estimate their associations with quality-of-life outcomes.

Results: Overall, higher proportions of cocaine-negative urine test results were associated with statistically significant, although modest, between- and within-subject changes in several quality-of-life measures, including psychosocial functioning, mental health, and sleep. Participants who reached at least 75% cocaine-negative urine test results during treatment demonstrated improvements in all Short Inventory of Problems-Cocaine outcomes, excluding Total Score.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that reducing cocaine use improves quality-of-life outcomes in people with cocaine use disorder. These results also extend prior research on more robust health improvements that emerge when participants attain 75% negative urine test results over a trial. Future research should explore the extent to which these beneficial outcomes apply to other cocaine use disorder samples, including those with more severe comorbid psychosocial challenges at baseline. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).