Addictive behaviors
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Addictive behaviors · Oct 2013
Coping style and ecstasy use motives as predictors of current mood symptoms in ecstasy users.
Elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms during childhood and adolescence have been associated with greater risk of later ecstasy use. Ecstasy users have reported using ecstasy to reduce depression or worry, or to escape. While these findings suggest that some people use ecstasy as a form of self-medication, limited research has been conducted examining the relationship between affective symptoms, coping styles and drug use motives in ecstasy users. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine if coping style and/or ecstasy use motives are associated with current mood symptoms in ecstasy users. ⋯ These findings highlight the importance of interventions targeting motives for ecstasy use, and providing coping skills training for managing stressful life events among people with co-occurring depressive/anxiety symptoms and ecstasy use.
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Addictive behaviors · Jun 2013
Pilot of a brief, web-based educational intervention targeting safe storage and disposal of prescription opioids.
Prescription opioid misuse has been declared an American epidemic and a significant proportion of misused opioids are diverted from legitimate prescriptions. Patient education regarding appropriate use and the dangers of misuse has been identified as a key intervention target. The current study presents findings from the open pilot of a patient-tailored, brief, web-based intervention designed to improve knowledge of safe medication use, storage and disposal. ⋯ Subjects were 62 treatment-seeking outpatients at two diverse outpatient health clinics (dental and pain management) who were prescribed an opioid medication. Subjects completed an online assessment of risk factors for prescription opioid misuse and the 15-minute Script Safety intervention. Knowledge and misuse behaviors were assessed at baseline, immediately post intervention (knowledge only) and at one-week and one-month follow up. Knowledge regarding safe prescription opioid use, storage and disposal improved significantly from pre to post intervention and was sustained at follow up (% correct from baseline to one-month follow up: unsafe to retain unused pills, 66.1% vs. 96.5%; unsafe to borrow pills from family/friends, 87.1% vs. 98.2%; best to store pills in cool, dry, secure location, 45.2% vs. 89.5%; not recommended to use expired medications, 75.8% vs. 96.5%; not recommended to flush all medications down the toilet, 45.2% vs. 82.5%, ps<.01). Reductions in self-reported misuse behaviors were also observed. Although preliminary, the findings highlight the potential utility of integrating brief, web-based educational interventions in community and primary health care settings.
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Addictive behaviors · Jun 2013
Perceived risk associated with tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use among people with and without psychotic disorders.
Perceived harmfulness of substances is a key concept of behavioural theories that have been used to explain substance use behaviours. However, perceptions of risk associated with substance use have rarely been examined among people with psychotic disorders. This study examined the relationship between perceived harm and patterns of substance use among people with and without psychotic disorders. It also aimed to identify the factors that may be associated with perceived harmfulness of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use among these populations. ⋯ These results suggest that demographic, substance use, mental health and public health campaign variables are associated with perceptions of the harmfulness of tobacco, cannabis, and to a lesser extent alcohol, among people with and without mental disorders. While messages regarding the negative consequences associated with cannabis use among people with psychotic disorders may be accepted, there is a continued need to highlight the negative consequences of smoking among people with psychotic disorders.
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Addictive behaviors · May 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialDoes the exposure to smoking cues in movies affect adolescents' immediate smoking behavior?
Various studies have demonstrated that environmental smoking cues elicit smoking-related responses in smokers. However, cue reactivity studies among adolescent smokers are scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of smoking portrayal in movies on immediate smoking behavior in adolescent smokers. ⋯ No influence of smoking cues in movies on immediate smoking behavior in adolescent daily smokers was found. More experimental research on the effects of environmental cues on adolescent smokers in different stages of addiction is needed.
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Addictive behaviors · May 2013
Impulsivity but not sensation seeking is associated with opioid analgesic misuse risk in patients with chronic pain.
Impulsivity and sensation seeking have been associated with substance use disorders, including opioid use disorders. This pilot study sought to examine whether impulsivity and sensation seeking, as measured by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS), were associated with opioid analgesic misuse risk in chronic, low-back pain patients prescribed opioid analgesics. Participants were 42 chronic, low-back pain patients enrolled in a larger study examining problematic opioid analgesic use. ⋯ These results suggest a potential relationship between impulsivity, but not sensation seeking, and risk for opioid analgesic misuse. Impulsivity is not a prominent trait observed in chronic pain patients; however, it may be an important risk factor for opioid analgesic misuse for a subset of individuals with chronic pain. As such, these findings suggest that additional exploration of this potential risk factor is warranted.