The influence of family relations on trajectories of cigarette and alcohol use from early to late adolescence

The present study examines growth curve trajectories of cigarette and alcohol use from 13 to 19 years, and investigates how family relations (i.e., decision-making opportunities, negative family interactions, and positive identification with parents) relate to contemporaneous and predictive alcohol and cigarette use during adolescence. Data came from a longitudinal study of European American and African American families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds (n = 1160 for alcohol use; n = 1102 for cigarette use). European Americans had higher levels and faster rates of alcohol and cigarette use than African Americans. European Americans females had the greatest likelihood of increased cigarette use. Negative family interactions and positive identification had contemporaneous and predictive associations with alcohol and/or cigarette use. Negative family interactions were related to increased smoking and drinking, whereas positive identification was associated with decreased use. Family relations differentially affected cigarette use according to ethnicity and gender, but had similar effects on alcohol use.     

Academic time during college: Associations with mood,tiredness, and binge drinking across days and semesters

The current study examined the amount of time American college students spent on academics and explored whether functioning indicators (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, tiredness, and binge drinking) rose and fell with academic time across days and semesters. College students (N = 735) were followed longitudinally and completed 14 daily diaries within each of 7 semesters (N = 56,699 days). The results revealed that academic time decreased slightly during the middle semesters and then increased in later semesters. Furthermore, on days when students spent more time on academics, they reported less positive affect, more tiredness, and less binge drinking; however, the strength and direction of associations depended on the analysis level and whether it was a weekend. Positive affect, for instance, was inversely associated with academics across days, but the reverse was true across semesters. These results emphasize the importance of considering the temporal context in research on adolescent and young adult time use.     

The impact of alcohol and tobacco use on in vivo glutathione in youth with bipolar disorder: An exploratory study

Risky alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking is highly prevalent in bipolar disorder (BD) and is associated with increased formation of neural reactive oxygen species. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) is an in vivo imaging modality that allows quantification of glutathione (GSH) concentration, the brains primary antioxidant. Sixty-four patients with BD and 49 controls (18–30 years) completed self-report questionnaires regarding alcohol and tobacco use and underwent ¹H-MRS. Levels of GSH in the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were determined. Within-group Pearson's correlations were used to explore the relationship between alcohol use and GSH concentration for BD and controls, covarying for age, gender, family history of alcohol dependence and smoking status. Relationships between GSH and presence/severity of alcohol-induced blackouts were determined using Spearman's correlations. In BD, reduced hippocampal-GSH associated with higher alcohol use (R = −0.489, p < 0.021). Reduction of ACC-GSH with increased drinking was non-significant when controlling for tobacco use. Independent samples t-test revealed a significantly decreased ACC-GSH in smokers with BD (t (53) = 4.162, p < 0.001). In controls, alcohol use was not correlated to GSH in either region. In both patients and controls, reduced hippocampal-GSH was associated with blackout presence/severity, supporting a role for the hippocampus in the continuum of alcohol-induced memory impairments. Our preliminary findings suggest that in youth with BD reduced hippocampal-GSH is associated with risky alcohol use and alcohol and tobacco use is associated with reduced ACC-GSH, highlighting the role of these substances as modifiable risk factors for decreased anti-oxidant capacity in BD.     

Brief report: Affluence and college alcohol problems: The relevance of parent- and child-reported indicators of socioeconomic status

A mediational model predicting alcohol problems was tested in a sample of college students (n = 130) and their parents (n = 115). The indirect effect of substance-use coping and the age of onset of alcohol use were examined in the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and alcohol problems. Findings indicated that parent-reported SES was associated with increased alcohol problems; the age of onset of alcohol use partially mediated this relationship. Substance-use coping was not a significant mediator in the model. Student-reported SES was not associated with alcohol problems. Implications for examining social status in relation to college drinking behaviors are discussed.     

Duration of attenuated positive and negative symptoms in individuals at clinical high risk: Associations with risk of conversion to psychosis and functional outcome

Research in individuals at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis has focused on subjects with no more than 12 months of present or worsened attenuated positive symptoms. However, the impact of long duration attenuated positive and/or negative prodromal symptoms on outcomes is unclear. Seventy-six CHR subjects with attenuated positive symptoms and at least moderate severity level negative symptoms rated on the Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS) were prospectively followed for a mean of 3.0 ± 1.6 years. Social and Role functioning was assessed with the Global Functioning: Social and Role scales. Correlations between attenuated positive and negative symptom duration and severity and conversion to psychosis and functional outcomes were analyzed. The average onset of SOPS rated negative symptoms (M = 53.24 months, SD = 48.90, median = 37.27) was approximately twelve months prior to the emergence of attenuated positive symptom (M = 40.15 months, SD = 40.33, median = 24.77, P < 0.05). More severe positive symptoms (P = 0.004), but not longer duration of positive (P = 0.412) or negative (P = 0.754) symptoms, predicted conversion to psychosis. Neither positive symptom duration (P = 0.181) nor severity (P = 0.469) predicted role or social functioning at study endpoint. Conversely, longer negative symptom duration predicted poor social functioning (P = 0.004). Overall, our findings suggest that the severity of attenuated positive symptoms at baseline may be more important than symptom duration for determining individuals at increased risk of developing psychosis. In contrast, long-standing negative symptoms may be associated with persistent social difficulties and therefore have an important position in the treatment of disability.     

Alcohol use among 10th-graders: Distinguishing between high-intensity drinking and other levels of use

IntroductionDrinking at levels beyond standard binge drinking thresholds poses particularly high risks to youth. Few studies have examined high-intensity drinking (HID; 10+ drinks in a row) in high school students and none have tested whether peer drunkenness and parental knowledge (e.g., about youth's whereabouts) distinguish between binge and high-intensity drinkers.MethodsWe used data from the Monitoring the Future study collected from nationally-representative samples of U.S. 10th graders (modal age 16 years old) in 2016–2018 (n = 14,824; 48.3% girls, 46.8% boys). We conducted multinomial logistic regression to examine odds of drinking at one of four mutually-exclusive levels: HID in the past 2 weeks, binge (5+) drinking in the past 2 weeks, any alcohol use in the past year, and no alcohol use in the past year.ResultsLow parental knowledge and peer drunkenness were both associated with higher odds of each drinking level, including HID vs. binge, binge vs. alcohol use, and alcohol use vs. no alcohol use. Boys had higher odds than girls of HID compared to binge drinking and of no alcohol use compared to alcohol use.ConclusionsParent and peer risk factors differentiate HID from other levels of drinking.     

DSM-based problem gambling: Increasing the odds of heavy drinking in a national sample of U.S. college athletes?

Despite previously found co-occurrence of youth gambling and alcohol use, their relationship has not been systematically explored in a national sample using DSM-based gambling measures and multivariate modeling, adjusted for potential confounders. This study aimed to empirically examine the prevalence patterns and odds of at-least-weekly alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking (HED) in relation to various levels of gambling severity in college athletes. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed on data from a national sample of 20,739 U.S. college athletes from the first National Collegiate Athletic Association national survey of gambling and health-risk behaviors. Prevalence of at-least-weekly alcohol use significantly increased as DSM-IV-based gambling severity increased, from non-gambling (24.5%) to non-problem gambling (43.7%) to sub-clinical gambling (58.5%) to problem gambling (67.6%). Multivariate results indicated that all levels of gambling were associated with significantly elevated risk of at-least-weekly HED, from non-problem (OR = 1.25) to sub-clinical (OR = 1.75) to problem gambling (OR = 3.22); the steep increase in the relative risk also suggested a possible quadratic relationship between gambling level and HED risk. Notably, adjusted odds ratios showed problem gambling had the strongest association with at-least-weekly HED, followed by marijuana (OR = 3.08) and cigarette use (OR = 2.64). Gender interactions and differences were also identified and assessed. In conclusion, attention should be paid to college athletes exhibiting gambling problems, especially considering their empirical multivariate associations with high-risk drinking; accordingly, screening for problem gambling is recommended. More research is warranted to elucidate the etiologic mechanisms of these associations.     

Trauma,PTSD, and binge and hazardous drinking among women and men: Findings from a national study

ObjectiveTo examine whether trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are differentially associated with binge and hazardous patterns of drinking among women and men.MethodsSecondary analysis of the Wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC); the analytic sample included 31,487 respondents (54.6% female) without past-year alcohol abuse/dependence. Participants' trauma-exposure/PTSD status was characterized as: no exposure to trauma in lifetime (reference), lifetime trauma exposure, PTSD before past-year, or past-year PTSD. Past-year binge and hazardous drinking were examined with multinomial logistic regression models (past-year abstinence was modeled as the non-event); models included the main effects of trauma-exposure/PTSD status and gender, the trauma-exposure/PTSD status-by-gender interaction, psychiatric comorbidity, and socio-demographic covariates.ResultsThe gender-specific effects of trauma, before past-year PTSD, and past-year PTSD were significantly elevated for all drinking behaviors in women (range of odds ratios (ORs) = 1.8–4.8), and for some drinking behaviors in men (range of ORs = 1.3–2.0), relative to no trauma exposure. Trauma exposure was more strongly associated with high-frequency binge drinking, low-frequency binge drinking, and non-binge drinking among women as compared to men. Past-year PTSD was also more strongly associated with low-frequency binge drinking and non-binge drinking among women compared to men. Findings for hazardous drinking followed a similar pattern, with significant gender-related differences in ORs for hazardous drinking and non-hazardous drinking observed with respect to trauma exposure and past-year PTSD..ConclusionMental health practitioners should be mindful of the extent to which trauma-exposed individuals both with and without PTSD engage in binge and hazardous drinking, given the negative consequences associated with these patterns of drinking..     

Friends' drinking norms and male adolescents' alcohol consumption: The moderating role of performance-based peer influence susceptibility

This study examined whether the relationship between friends' drinking norms and male adolescents' alcohol use is moderated by performance-based peer influence susceptibility. Seventy-three male adolescents (M = 17 years) from three schools in the Netherlands were exposed to the drinking norms of “peers” (electronic confederates) in a chat room experiment. These peers were either popular or unpopular, and conveyed pro- or anti-alcohol norms. Peer influence susceptibility was defined as the change in adolescents' answers before and after exposure to the peer norms. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that the relationship between friends' drinking norms and adolescents' alcohol use (assessed during eight weekends) was moderated by susceptibility to the pro-alcohol norms of popular peers. This relationship was stronger for adolescents who were highly susceptible. These findings suggest that a behavioral measure of peer influence susceptibility could be useful in alcohol prevention programs to select adolescents at risk for negative peer socialization.     

The Influence of Drinking Motives on Hookah use Frequency Among Young Multi-Substance Users

The present work examined the influence of drinking motives on hookah use frequency among individuals reporting both alcohol and hookah use (multi-substance users). Despite growing documentation of cross-substance effects between motives and substance use, limited research has examined these relationships specifically with respect to hookah use. Participants were 134 (75.37 % female) hookah and alcohol users, aged 18–47 years (M = 22.17, SD = 3.66) who completed measures of substance use, drinking motives, and reported demographic information. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to investigate the predictive value of drinking motives on hookah use frequency, age taken into account. Findings showed that hookah use was negatively associated with age (β = ? .22, p?≤??.?01). The model regressing hookah use on the four drinking motives provided adequate fit (χ ² = 314.31, df = 180, p < .05, CFI = .92, RMSEA = .075 [95 % CI, .06–.09]). Hookah use was associated negatively with social motives (β = ? .43, p?≤??.?001) and positively with conformity motives (β = .24, p?≤??.?05). These findings are consistent with multi-substance use literature suggesting that drinking motives are associated with the use of other substances, including increased hookah use frequency. Additional examinations of cross-substance cognitive processes are needed, particularly with respect to understanding whether hookah use among multi-substance users may be contingent in part on individual factors including negative affectivity.     

Interrelation and independence of positive and negative psychological constructs in predicting general treatment adherence in coronary artery patients — Results from the THORESCI study

BackgroundIn cardiac patients, positive psychological factors have been associated with improved medical and psychological outcomes. The current study examined the interrelation between and independence of multiple positive and negative psychological constructs. Furthermore, the potential added predictive value of positive psychological functioning regarding the prediction of patients' treatment adherence and participation in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) was investigated.Method409 percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients were included (mean age = 65.6 ± 9.5; 78% male). Self-report questionnaires were administered one month post-PCI. Positive psychological constructs included positive affect (GMS) and optimism (LOT-R); negative constructs were depression (PHQ-9, BDI), anxiety (GAD-7) and negative affect (GMS). Six months post-PCI self-reported general adherence (MOS) and CR participation were determined.ResultsFactor Analysis (Oblimin rotation) revealed two components (r = − 0.56), reflecting positive and negative psychological constructs. Linear regression analyses showed that in unadjusted analyses both optimism and positive affect were associated with better general treatment adherence at six months (p < 0.05). In adjusted analyses, optimism's predictive values remained, independent of sex, age, PCI indication, depression and anxiety. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that in patients with a cardiac history, positive affect was significantly associated with CR participation. After controlling for multiple covariates, this relation was no longer significant.ConclusionsPositive and negative constructs should be considered as two distinct dimensions. Positive psychological constructs (i.e. optimism) may be of incremental value to negative psychological constructs in predicting patients' treatment adherence. A more complete view of a patients' psychological functioning will open new avenues for treatment. Additional research is needed to investigate the relationship between positive psychological factors and other cardiac outcomes, such as cardiac events and mortality.     

Short-term changes in plans to drink and importance of positive and negative alcohol consequences

Experienced consequences predicted short-term changes in alcohol use plans and perceptions of the importance of alcohol-related consequences. Participants were 176 traditionally aged first-year university students who completed a 10-week telephone diary study (total weeks=1735). In multi-level models, men and students who experienced more positive and negative consequences on average planned to drink more and rated avoiding negative consequences as less important. Students who experienced more positive consequences rated them as more important (between-person analyses). Following weeks of experiencing relatively more positive drinking consequences, students planned to drink more and rated experiencing positive consequences as more important for the subsequent week (within-person analyses). Challenges for intervening in the ongoing formation of anticipatory cognitions regarding alcohol use are discussed.     

Treating individuals with social anxiety disorder and at-risk drinking: Phasing in a brief alcohol intervention following paroxetine

Paroxetine alone is not sufficient to decrease alcohol use in socially anxious alcoholics seeking anxiety treatment. We tested the hypothesis that adding a brief-alcohol-intervention (BI) to paroxetine would decrease alcohol use. All subjects (N = 83) had a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, endorsed drinking to cope with anxiety, were NIAAA-defined at-risk drinkers, and were randomized to either paroxetine alone, or paroxetine plus BI. Both groups showed significant improvement in both social anxiety severity (F(5,83) = 61.5, p < 0.0001) and drinking to cope (e.g. F(4,79) = 23, p < 0.0001) and these two constructs correlated with each other (B = 3.39, SE = 0.696, t(71) = 4.88, p < 0.001). BI was not effective at decreasing alcohol use (e.g. no main effect of group, all p values >0.3). Paroxetine decreased social anxiety severity in the face of heavy drinking and decreasing the anxiety was related to a concurrent decrease in coping related drinking. BI was not effective at decreasing drinking or drinking to cope.     

Brief Interventions for Patients Presenting to the Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES) with Major Mental Illnesses and At-risk Drinking

The presentation for care in psychiatric emergency setting provides an opportunity to assist individuals with mental health disorders and problems related to alcohol use. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether clinician-administered brief alcohol interventions are effective in reducing alcohol consumption in patients who screen positive for at-risk drinking in the psychiatric emergency setting. A total of 390 PES patients were screened; 87 (schizophrenia/bipolar disorder, n = 34; depression/anxiety, n = 53) met criteria for the study and received a brief alcohol intervention. Both groups dropped their drinking by ~7 drinks/week over the 6-months of the study (P < .05). The results of this study suggest that individuals with mental illnesses who drink at risk levels may benefit from a short, targeted brief alcohol intervention directed at changing their alcohol-related behavior and that, delivery of these interventions is feasible in a psychiatric emergency setting.     

The Disqualification of Positive Social Outcomes Scale: A novel assessment of a long-recognized cognitive tendency in social anxiety disorder

Socially anxious individuals frequently tend to disqualify positive social experiences and outcomes. However, no formal measure of Disqualificationof Positive Social Outcome (DPSO)-related tendencies has yet been reported. The purpose of the present series of studies was to develop the Disqualification ofPositive Social Outcomes Scale (DPSOS) and examine its psychometric profile across several independent samples, including a large (n = 585) undergraduate sample; a clinical sample of individuals diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (n = 14), and a demographically-equivalent sample of non-socially anxious control participants (n = 14). The factorial validity, internal consistency, and construct validity of the DPSOS subscales were examined. Results provide preliminary support for the psychometric properties of the DPSOS. Implications of DPSO as to assessment and treatment of social anxiety disorder are discussed.     

Drinking frequency and quantity and risk of suicide among men

Background Individuals who die from suicide commonly have consumed alcohol immediately beforehand, often in large quantities. However, prospective cohort data on regular alcohol use as a risk factor for suicide are lacking. Method As part of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 47,654 men free of cancer prospectively reported their drinking habits, including average use, drinking frequency, and typical maximal use on repeated occasions beginning in 1986. Participants were followed for death to 2002. Results A total of 136 men died from suicide during follow-up. Quantity of alcohol consumed per drinking day tended to be associated with a greater risk of suicide mortality, with an adjusted hazard ratio among men consuming 30.0 or more grams (more than two drinks) per drinking day of 2.42 (95% confidence interval, 0.75–7.80; P-trend 0.05). Average alcohol consumption, drinking frequency, and binge drinking were not independently associated with risk. The apparent relationship of quantity consumed per drinking day with risk was not substantially changed by adjustment for serious illness or other dietary factors and was most notable for suicide associated with firearm use. Conclusions Among men, risk of death from suicide tends to be associated primarily with quantity of alcohol consumed per drinking day, not with drinking frequency or overall alcohol consumption. This finding supports guidelines that limit consumption among men who choose to drink alcohol to two drinks or less per drinking day.     

Effects of chronic alcohol consumption on long-term outcomes of thalamic deep brain stimulation for essential tremor

The prevalence of essential tremor (ET) is about 4% above 40 years of age. Chronic alcohol consumption is present in around 20% of patients with ET. Our objective was to identify whether chronic alcohol consumption was associated with a negative effect on tremor outcome after thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) in ET patients. We conducted a retrospective chart review, from January 2005 to December 2012, from which 23 patients who had ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim)-DBS surgery for ET were identified. Seven patients had a positive history of chronic alcohol consumption. We defined as chronic alcohol users those patients with a habit of drinking alcohol every day in order to suppress tremor. In the overall group of 23 patients, there was a reduction in the median tremor score from 8 pre-operatively, to 1 post-operatively (p < 0.0001). The alcohol consumers group experienced a reduction in the median tremor score from 6 pre-operatively to 0 post-operatively (p = 0.03). The non-alcohol consumers group had a reduction in the median tremor score from 8 pre-operatively to 1.7 post-operatively (p < 0.0001). Both groups of patients experienced significant benefit from thalamic DBS. A larger study may reveal statistically significant differences between subgroups.     

Maori Identification,Drinking Motivation and Mental Health

Research examining the relationships among Maori cultural identification, drinking behaviour, drinking motivation and mental health is almost non-existent. A review of literature suggests that stronger Maori identification could be associated with lower alcohol consumption on a typical occasion, less frequent drinking, drinking to enhance mood or sociability (positive reinforcement) and better mental health. Maori identification and mental health would be related inversely to negative reinforcement (reduce aversive and undesirable states) and to negative affect (feeling angry, aggressive). The convenience sample consisted of 113 male and 334 female Maori aged 18–80 years (M = 33.88, SD = 11.43). Participants completed an online or mail questionnaire which included demographic information, Maori identification, drinking behaviour and motives, and the Mental Health Inventory. Results showed that Maori identification was significantly correlated with frequency of drinking but not with motivation or mental health. After controlling for amount of drinking and relevant demographic variables, regression analysis showed that motivation uniquely accounted for a total of 19% of the variance in mental health scores. The findings suggest that relationships between Maori identification, mental health, drinking behaviour and motivation are complex and worthy of further study.     

Preliminary evidence that negative symptom severity relates to multilocus genetic profile for dopamine signaling capacity and D2 receptor binding in healthy controls and in schizophrenia

Deficits in central, subcortical dopamine (DA) signaling may underlie negative symptom severity, particularly anhedonia, in healthy individuals and in schizophrenia. To investigate these relationships, we assessed negative symptoms with the Schedule for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and self-reported anhedonia with the Scales for Physical and Social Anhedonia (SPSA), Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale, and Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale in 36 healthy controls (HC), 27 siblings (SIB) of individuals with schizophrenia, and 66 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SCZ). A subset of participants (N = 124) were genotyped for DA-related polymorphisms in genes for DRD4, DRD2/ANKK1, DAT1, and COMT, which were used to construct biologically-informed multi-locus genetic profile (MGP) scores reflective of subcortical dopaminergic signaling. DA receptor type 2 (D2R) binding was assessed among a second subset of participants (N = 23) using PET scans with the D2R-selective, non-displaceable radioligand (N-[¹¹C]methyl)benperidol. Higher MGP scores, reflecting elevated subcortical dopaminergic signaling capacity, were associated with less negative symptom severity, as measured by the BNSS, across all participants. In addition, higher striatal D2R binding was associated with less physical and social anhedonia, as measured by the SPSA, across HC, SIB, and SCZ. The current preliminary findings support the hypothesis that subcortical DA function may contribute to negative symptom severity and self-reported anhedonia, independent of diagnostic status.