Addictive behaviors
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Addictive behaviors · May 2012
Adolescent nonmedical users of prescription opioids: brief screening and substance use disorders.
The objectives of this study are to examine the associations among a positive score on the CRAFFT (a substance use brief screening test for adolescents) and demographic characteristics, diversion sources, routes of administration, substance use behaviors and motivations associated with the use of prescription opioids without a legal prescription. ⋯ The CRAFFT brief screening test for adolescents can be used to identify a subgroup of NMUPO at the highest risk for a substance use disorder as well as a subgroup of NMUPO who would benefit from appropriate pain management.
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Addictive behaviors · Apr 2012
Positive alcohol expectancies mediate the influence of the behavioral activation system on alcohol use: a prospective path analysis.
Gray's (1975, 1987) behavioral activation (BAS) and behavioral inhibition systems (BIS) are thought to underlie sensitivity to reinforcement and punishment, respectively. Consistent with Gray's theory and the Acquired Preparedness model, BAS may facilitate the learning of positive alcohol expectancies (PAEs) over time, leading to increases in drinking. Yet, no prospective tests of this pathway have been reported. ⋯ BIS was positively associated with some PAE types, but did not have indirect effects on drinking. Findings are consistent with both the theory of the BAS and the Acquired Preparedness model, as individuals high on BAS Fun-Seeking may find the rewarding properties of alcohol more reinforcing, leading to stronger enhancement PAEs and increased drinking over time. The prospective design helps establish the temporal association between BAS and alcohol-related learning, and points to the need for prevention efforts that target these at-risk students.
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Addictive behaviors · Apr 2012
Early onset of drug and polysubstance use as predictors of injection drug use among adult drug users.
Early onset of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use is an indicator of later substance use problems in adulthood such as alcohol or other drug dependence. This paper seeks to address the association between early onset alcohol, marijuana, cigarette, and polysubstance use with injection drug use among recent illicit drug users. The current study used baseline data from the Baltimore site of the NEURO-HIV Epidemiologic Study, an investigation of neuropsychological and social-behavioral risk factors of HIV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C among both injection and non-injection drug users in Baltimore, Maryland. ⋯ IDU status was then stratified by race/ethnicity. After controlling for age and gender, only early polysubstance use was a significant predictor of IDU status for Whites (AOR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.07-3.93). Consistent with literature on early substance initiation and later illicit substance use, early onset of alcohol and polysubstance use is an important risk factor for IDU in adulthood.
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Tobacco quitlines (QLs) are efficacious and have assisted many smokers in achieving tobacco abstinence. However, most smokers are not able to achieve tobacco abstinence with QL services. QL counseling interventions for smokers who do not quit on their target quit date (TQD) and decline to set a new TQD after missing their TQD have not been systematically evaluated. ⋯ Although some US QLs utilized the "5Rs," the majority provided smoking reduction interventions for smokers not achieving tobacco cessation by their initial TQD and declining to set a new TQD. Research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of smoking rate reduction methods implemented through QLs for increasing smoking abstinence rates.
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Addictive behaviors · Mar 2012
Stimulant use trajectories and the longitudinal risk of heavy drinking: findings from a rural population-based study.
The extant literature offers little information about the longitudinal course of alcohol use among stimulant users, particularly those in rural areas, but it is plausible that reductions in stimulant use are accompanied by increases in heavy drinking. The objective of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationships between heavy drinking days and latent trajectories of powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine use. Participants (n=710) were identified via Respondent-Driven Sampling in 3 rural communities in each of 3 states, with interviews conducted every 6 months over 3 years. ⋯ Trajectories of methamphetamine use were not significantly associated with heavy drinking days. In conclusion, heavy alcohol use changes little over time among rural stimulant users. Many rural cocaine users could potentially benefit from interventions aimed at curtailing heavy drinking.