Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors
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Psychol Addict Behav · Sep 2011
Thinking and drinking: alcohol-related cognitions across stages of adolescent alcohol involvement.
Alcohol-related cognitions, particularly expectancies for drinking and nondrinking and motives for nondrinking, are involved in the initiation, maintenance, and cessation of alcohol use and are hypothesized to play key roles in adolescent decision making. This study explored (a) the relationships between alcohol use expectancies, nondrinking expectancies, and nondrinking motives; (b) the roles of these cognitions across hypothesized developmental stages of adolescent alcohol use; and (c) the relationships between these cognitions and recent or intended future changes in drinking behavior in a cross-sectional sample. Surveys assessing alcohol use behaviors and attitudes were administered to 1,648 high school students. ⋯ Intentions to initiate or reduce drinking in the coming month were also associated with these alcohol-related cognitions. Drinking and nondrinking expectancies and motives for not drinking may play critical roles in decisions to alter alcohol-use behavior during adolescence. Future exploration of temporal relationships between changes in alcohol-related cognitions and behavioral decision making will be useful in the refinement of effective prevention and intervention strategies.
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Psychol Addict Behav · Jun 2011
Introduction to a special section on implementing evidence-based interventions for substance use disorders.
This article introduces a Special Section of the Psychology of Addictive Behaviors on "Implementing Evidence-based Interventions for Substance Use Disorders." It briefly describes the content of each of the seven manuscripts comprising the Special Section. The articles provide a overview of conceptual frameworks for, and summarize research on, the implementation of evidence-based treatments and practices for substance use disorders. Taken together, the articles make clear that successful implementation of a treatment innovation generally requires a multifaceted approach that considers: (a) features of the clinical intervention to be implemented, (b) characteristics of the individuals that are expected to adopt the clinical intervention, (c) features of the proximal and more distal environments in which the clinical intervention will be implemented, and (d) the implementation strategy to be applied.
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Psychol Addict Behav · Dec 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialComputerized versus motivational interviewing alcohol interventions: impact on discrepancy, motivation, and drinking.
The authors conducted two randomized clinical trials with ethnically diverse samples of college student drinkers in order to determine (a) the relative efficacy of two popular computerized interventions versus a more comprehensive motivational interview approach (BASICS) and (b) the mechanisms of change associated with these interventions. In Study 1, heavy drinking participants recruited from a student health center (N = 74, 59% women, 23% African American) were randomly assigned to receive BASICS or the Alcohol 101 CD-ROM program. BASICS was associated with greater post-session motivation to change and self-ideal and normative discrepancy relative to Alcohol 101, but there were no group differences in the primary drinking outcomes at 1-month follow-up. ⋯ There was a significant treatment effect on typical weekly and heavy drinking, with participants in BASICS reporting significantly lower follow-up drinking relative to assessment only participants. In Study 2, change in the motivation or discrepancy did not predict drinking outcomes. Across both studies, African American students assigned to BASICS reported medium effect size reductions in drinking whereas African American students assigned to Alcohol 101, e-CHUG, or assessment did not reduce their drinking.
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Psychol Addict Behav · Sep 2010
Parental alcohol involvement and adolescent alcohol expectancies predict alcohol involvement in male adolescents.
Current models of adolescent drinking behavior hypothesize that alcohol expectancies mediate the effects of other proximal and distal risk factors. This longitudinal study tested the hypothesis that the effects of parental alcohol involvement on their children's drinking behavior in mid-adolescence are mediated by the children's alcohol expectancies in early adolescence. A sample of 148 initially 9-11 year old boys and their parents from a high-risk population and a contrast group of community families completed measures of drinking behavior and alcohol expectancies over a 6-year interval. ⋯ Contrary to predictions, child alcohol expectancies did not mediate the effects of parental alcohol involvement in this high-risk sample. Different aspects of parental alcohol involvement, along with early adolescent alcohol expectancies, independently predicted adolescent drinking behavior in middle adolescence. Alternative pathways for the influence of maternal and paternal alcohol involvement and implications for expectancy models of adolescent drinking behavior were discussed.
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Psychol Addict Behav · Dec 2009
Preliminary examination of spring break alcohol use and related consequences.
The authors examined the extent to which college student drinkers are at risk for experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences during Spring Break. A sample of first-year college student drinkers (N = 726) participated by completing an online survey assessing typical drinking, as well as Spring Break drinking and related consequences. ⋯ Furthermore, results indicated that typical drinking moderated the relationship between Spring Break drinking and expected zero-values (i.e., not reporting any Spring Break consequences), such that the association between Spring Break drinking and the likelihood of being a zero-score was less evident for those who are typically lighter drinkers. Identifying and examining temporal and contextually relevant events and associated drinking is critical for understanding and ultimately preventing extreme drinking and associated consequences associated with specific events like Spring Break, which place many students at high risk for experiencing acute harm.