International journal of alcohol and drug research最新文献

Background: Family burden has not been studied in relation to alcohol and other drug harms from others. We adapted a family burden scale from studies of caring for those with mental health conditions for use in the US Alcohol and Drug Harm to Others Survey (ADHTOS). We investigated associations between a seven-item summative burden scale and different types of harms attributed to someone else's use of alcohol, cannabis, or another drug: (a) being assaulted/physically harmed; (b) having family/partner problems; (c) feeling threatened or afraid; and (d) being emotionally hurt/neglected due to others' substance use.

Methods: A survey of adults aged 18 years and over conducted between October 2023 and July 2024 (n = 8,311), involved address-based sampling (n = 3,931 including 193 mail-backs) and web panels (n = 4,380), oversampling Black (n = 951), Latinx (n = 790) and sexual or gender minority (SGM) respondents (n = 309). Data from seven items on types of burdens experienced from other people's alcohol or drug use were provided by those harmed by someone else's alcohol or drug use and were used to create a burden scale. Analyses used negative binomial regression on burden sum adjusting for covariates, such as age, gender, race and ethnicity, marital status and years of education.

Results: The single factor burden scale showed good internal consistency (α = .91). Components assessing being emotionally drained/exhausted and family friction/arguments were endorsed by 38-39% of participants; finding stigma of the other's substance use upsetting was affirmed by 33%. Fewer endorsed feeling trapped in caregiving roles (22%), problems outside the family (26%), neglect of other family members' needs (16%), and having to change plans (14%). In adjusted regression models, seven of eight harm exposures were significantly associated with burden scores.

Discussion: People reported substantial burden from others' use of alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs. Family support interventions and policy remedies to mitigate these burdens are needed.

Aims: Alcohol and drug use can have negative effects on family and friends of someone who uses these substances. To give voice to people with lived experience, we sought in-depth qualitative data from people who experienced such harms to others (HTO) to better understand the scope and variation of alcohol and drug HTO to inform future survey research in the United States (US).

Design: Five discussion groups with people from varied racial and ethnic groups.

Setting: Five US cities with different sociodemographic profiles and alcohol and drug use patterns.

Participants: Family members of individuals with substance use disorders (SUD).

Measures: Thematic analysis was used to identify themes and highlight harms that have not been well-represented in US general population surveys to date.

Findings: Discussion group participants described how alcohol and drug HTO can have long-lasting effects, raising questions about strategies to query and document harms occurring over the lifecourse. The emotional stress and burden of a close relationship with someone with SUD was a recurrent theme. Participants also noted how systems and policies may inadvertently intensify HTO through negative interactions with legal or social service entities. They also identified helpful community resources (including Al-Anon) for people impacted by someone else's substance use.

Conclusions: Qualitative data from people with relevant lived experience identified new areas for alcohol and other drug HTO research, including duration of harms across the lifespan, emotional and psychological impacts, and systems-level harms. Findings informed a redesign of our national survey instrument to efficiently capture the broad range of HTO.

Background: Research has examined a range of impacts of women's drinking on children. However, fewer studies have addressed the consequences of men's heavy drinking on children. This review aims to identify and describe men's behaviours and actions that arise from their drinking and are likely to cause harm to children, and the types of harms that stem from men's drinking that children experience.

Methods: Review articles from 1990 to September 2023 were included. Four health and social databases were searched for reviews that included terms relating to men, alcohol consumption, and child harms. From 1,873 identified articles, 19 articles met the criteria for inclusion.

Results: Four broad topics were identified: relationships and families; violence and maltreatment; health, psychological and wellbeing impacts; and social and educational outcomes for children. Children may experience both direct and indirect harms associated with men's drinking. The former includes examples where men's drinking was linked to disinhibition, aggression, and physical assault. In the latter, men were absent resulting in being emotionally unavailable due to drinking. Internalising and externalising behaviours were common outcomes for children exposed to men's drinking. Contextual factors such as poverty, cultural norms and patriarchal influences were interrelated and sometimes exacerbated harm to children from men's drinking.

Conclusions: This review highlights the immediate and longer-lasting consequences of men's drinking for children, including family conflict, maltreatment, and emotional distress. Future studies should address gender disparities and consider the social factors present in cases where children are exposed to men's drinking.

Background: Tobacco smoking and alcohol use contribute to a synergy of epidemics (a "syndemic") that disproportionately affects persons involved with the criminal legal system (PCLS) and their social networks. An improved understanding of the complex interrelationships among the factors of the incarceration-tobacco-alcohol syndemic is essential to develop effective reform policies and interventions. However, collecting empirical data on these interrelationships is often hampered due to logistical and ethical challenges.

Methods: We developed an agent-based network model (ABNM) to simulate the effects of the incarceration-tobacco-alcohol syndemic in the state of Rhode Island, USA. The model was validated and calibrated using empirical survey and demographic data. Outcomes included current smoking and heavy alcohol use rates in the first year after release among previously incarcerated agents and in their social networks.

Results: The model successfully replicated demographic, substance use, and incarceration-related parameters. Simulation results suggest high rates of smoking (approximately 80% currently smoking persons in the first few weeks after release) and heavy alcohol use (approximately 40% current heavy alcohol use rate in the first few weeks after release) among PCLS, especially persons with multiple incarceration events. The model also estimated elevated rates of current smoking and current heavy alcohol use in the direct social contacts of PCLS.

Discussion: This ABNM integrates biobehavioral health processes relating to incarceration and substance use. This model can be used as a platform to evaluate the potential impacts of interventions provided to PCLS and their networks.