Addictive behaviors
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Addictive behaviors · Dec 2015
A Latent Profile Analysis of drinking motives among heavy drinking college students.
Positively (Enhancement and Social) and negatively (Coping) reinforcing drinking motives have been shown to be associated with alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and depression among college students. Although prior studies of drinking motives have mostly consisted of variable-centered analyses, the current study used a person-centered approach where individuals were grouped into categories based on shared characteristics using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). We investigated the utility of drinking motive profiles to determine how different profiles were associated with alcohol outcomes and depressive symptoms. ⋯ Drinking motive profiles differ in terms of alcohol outcomes and depressive symptoms. We encourage researchers to explore motives for drinking with individuals, especially assessing the relationship between coping motives and depression in the presence or absence of positively reinforcing motives.
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Addictive behaviors · Nov 2015
E-cigarette use among Texas youth: Results from the 2014 Texas Youth Tobacco Survey.
Several characteristics of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), such as candy flavorings, are worrisome for attracting youth. The current cross-sectional study uses data on e-cigarette use from the 2014 Texas Youth Tobacco Survey (TYTS), a representative statewide sample of Texas middle school and high school students. This study's aims are to determine the prevalence of e-cigarette use, including rates of concurrent use with other tobacco products among Texas youth and to describe the demographic and tobacco use differences between e-cigarette users and non-users. ⋯ Findings highlight the urgency to regulate e-cigarettes as well as to include these products in tobacco prevention programs.
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Addictive behaviors · Nov 2015
Prevalence and factors associated with smoking tobacco among men recently released from prison in California: A cross-sectional study.
Over 1.5 million people are incarcerated in state and federal correctional facilities in the United States. Formerly incarcerated men have significantly higher rates of mortality and morbidity than the general population, disparities that have been partially attributed to higher rates of tobacco smoking-related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease and cancer. ⋯ Given the high prevalence of smoking tobacco among former prisoners and the underlying high tobacco-related mortality rates, these findings suggest that a history of incarceration may be an important determinant of smoking. Prison and parole systems may be important potential settings for smoking-cessation interventions.
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Addictive behaviors · Nov 2015
Health anxiety and the non-medical use of prescription drugs in young adults: A cross-sectional study.
Studies have demonstrated a relation between health anxiety (hypochondriasis) and substance use, but this minimal body of literature has focused on alcohol or illicit drugs. The use of medications without a physician's prescription (i.e., non-medical use of prescription drugs, NMUPD) is increasingly prevalent among young adults. Health anxiety, a tendency to worry excessively about health, is a factor that could contribute to NMUPD, but this has not been examined. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relations among health anxiety, NMUPD, and other psychological variables related to substance use. ⋯ Medical professionals and mental health service providers should be aware of the increased risk of NMUPD for patients with health anxiety. Future research on NMUPD should more closely examine the role of health anxiety.
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Addictive behaviors · Oct 2015
Was the media campaign that supported Australia's new pictorial cigarette warning labels and plain packaging policy associated with more attention to and talking about warning labels?
Population-level interventions can possibly enhance each other's effects when they are implemented simultaneously. When the plain packaging policy was implemented in Australia, pictorial health warning labels (HWLs) on cigarette packages were also updated and a national mass media campaign was aired. This study examined whether smokers who recalled the media campaign reported more attention to and talking about HWLs. ⋯ Recall of the campaign was associated with more attention to and talking about HWLs. When adjusting for campaign recall, there was still an increasing trend in attention and talking. This suggests that the media campaign and the new packaging and labeling policies had independent and positive effects on attention to and talking about HWLs.