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The article presents the authors' views on the previously published article "Phosphatidylethanol Is Superior to CDT and GGT as an Alcohol Marker and Is a Reliable Estimate of Alcohol Consumption Level," by Walther L. and colleagues.

Background: Patients with severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD) demonstrate multifaceted impairments in social cognition abilities, including emotional decoding or Theory of Mind. Such impairments are associated with real‐life interpersonal difficulties, which in turn could contribute to the persistence of SAUD. However, little is known regarding how patients with SAUD make decisions in a social context and this literature has not been comprehensively reviewed. Objectives: The main aim of this paper was to conduct the first review specifically focusing on social decision‐making abilities in SAUD. Following PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, we describe existing knowledge regarding the difficulties experienced by patients with SAUD during social interactions. Our second objective was to propose perspectives for future research, based on the shortcomings identified in the available literature. Design: We searched three online databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus) and identified 14 papers using behavioral tasks to assess social decision making in patients with SAUD. Results: Included studies assessed social decision making through three paradigms: (1) economic games (four papers), (2) moral dilemmas (four papers), and (3) interpersonal problem‐solving (six papers). Results indicated that patients with SAUD behave differently from controls in all three paradigms. Conclusions: Previous studies suggested large‐scale social decision‐making impairments or biases in SAUD. However, in light of the limited number of studies available and of the restricted set of processes measured, we call for the extension of this field through more ecologically relevant and model‐based paradigms in order to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Knowledge of how drinking motives are differentially associated with alcohol use (e.g., frequency, quantity) and drinking problems is critical in understanding risky drinking and the development of alcohol use disorder. The purpose of this paper was to use meta‐analytic techniques to answer 2 overarching questions: (a) Which types of drinking motives (i.e., enhancement, coping, social, conformity) are most strongly associated with alcohol use and drinking problems? and (b) What are the most likely mechanisms (alcohol use or drinking problems) through which motives may be indirectly associated with outcomes? Method: A comprehensive literature search identified 229 studies that met inclusion criteria (254 samples; N = 130,705) with a subset containing longitudinal data (k = 5; N = 6283). Data were analyzed using 2‐stage meta‐analytic structural equation modeling. Results: Results showed that both enhancement and coping motives were the strongest predictors of drinking problems, but only enhancement motives were the strongest predictor of alcohol use. Enhancement and social motives were indirectly associated with alcohol use through drinking problems and with drinking problems through alcohol use, whereas coping motives were only indirectly associated with alcohol use through drinking problems, although the results differed for cross‐sectional and longitudinal data. Conclusion: Overall, findings from this meta‐analysis provide evidence that drinking motives differentially predict alcohol use outcomes through unique direct and indirect pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alcohol consumption and problems are increasing among older adults, who are at elevated risk for alcohol‐related accidents and medical problems. This paper describes a pilot follow‐up of older adults with a history of alcohol dependence that was designed to determine the feasibility of conducting a more extensive investigation. Methods: The sample consisted of previously assessed subjects in the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism who: (i) were age 50+; (ii) had lifetime DSM‐IV AD; and (iii) had DNA available. Individuals were located through family contacts, Internet searches, and death registries. A brief telephone interview assessed demographics, health, and alcohol involvement. Results: Of the total sample (N = 2,174), 36% were contacted, 24% were deceased, and 40% were not yet located. Most (89%) contacted subjects were interviewed, and 99% of them agreed to future evaluation. Thirty percent of interviewed subjects reported abstinence for 10+ years, 56% reported drinking within the past year, and 14% last drank between >1 and 10 years ago. There were no age‐related past‐year differences in weekly consumption (overall sample mean: 16 drinks), number of drinking weeks (30.8), maximum number of drinks in 24 hours (8.1), or prevalence of weekly risky drinking (19%). Among those who drank within the past 5 years, the 3 most common alcohol‐related problems were spending excessive time drinking or recovering (49%), drinking more/longer than intended (35%), and driving while intoxicated (35%); and about a third (32%) received some form of treatment. Conclusions: Over a 1‐year period, we located 60% of individuals last seen an average of 23 years ago. The majority of contacted individuals were interviewed and willing to be evaluated again. Although the proportion of individuals currently drinking diminished with age, subjects exhibited troublesome levels of alcohol consumption and problems. Our findings suggest the importance and feasibility of a more comprehensive follow‐up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers an overview of research paper that discussed the women-focused topics including the epidemiology of alcohol use among women, health and behavioral consequences of drinking, prenatal alcohol use and interventions, and enhanced alcohol treatment services. It also mentions the objectives of research to examine the harmful physiological and behavioral effects of alcohol in women.

Background: Peer selection and socialization influences for alcohol and other substance use have been a prominent area of research especially, though not exclusively, across adolescence. This study used 4‐wave prospective data from 1,004 young adults to evaluate selection and socialization influences for young adults' alcohol use and friends' alcohol use from late adolescence to later young adulthood, and incorporated the time‐varying predictors of marital and parental status. In addition, sex differences in peer selection and socialization processes were tested. Methods: Participants were recruited from high schools, and assessments were based on self‐reports initially collected in adolescence (at age 17.0 years) via paper‐and‐pencil surveys and in young adulthood at ages 23.8, 28.9, and 33.5 years via computer‐based individual interviews (computer‐assisted personal interview and audio computer‐assisted self‐interviewing). Initial sampling included a 76% participation rate, and the retention rate was 83%. Cross‐lagged panel regression models were used to evaluate hypotheses about peer selection and socialization. Results: Findings indicated that friend selection processes were stronger than socialization processes across adolescence to young adulthood. Adopting marital and (especially) parental roles was negatively associated with young adults' alcohol use and percentage of friends using alcohol, and the magnitude of these relationships was stronger and more consistent for females. Conclusions: These findings indicated that across the adolescence‐to‐young adulthood transition, peer selection processes were more influential than peer socialization. Marital and parental roles were associated with both lower young adult alcohol use and a lower percentage of friends using alcohol, with stronger role‐related effects for females relative to males. Do you select friends who drink similarly (selection effect) or does your shared drinking with friends increase your alcohol use (socialization effect)? Longitudinal data from 1004 young adults were used to evaluate these effects for young adults' and friends' alcohol use from adolescence to young adulthood. Friend selection effects were stronger than socialization effects. Adopting marital and parental roles was associated with a decrease in young adults' and friends' alcohol use; findings were stronger for females than males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Despite harmful drinking causing a significant burden on global health, there is a large treatment gap, especially in low- and middle-income countries. A major barrier to care is the lack of adequately skilled human resources to deliver contextually appropriate treatments. This paper describes the systematic process used to develop Counselling for Alcohol Problems ( CAP), a brief psychological treatment (PT) for delivery by lay counselors in routine primary care settings to men with harmful drinking in India. Methods CAP was developed using a methodology involving 3 sequential steps: (i) identifying potential treatment strategies; (ii) developing a theoretical framework for the treatment; and (iii) evaluating the acceptability and feasibility of the treatment. Results CAP is a 3-phase treatment delivered over 1 to 4 sessions based on a motivational interviewing ( MI) stance and involves the following strategies: assessment and personalized feedback, family engagement, drink refusal skills, skills to address drinking urges, problem-solving skills and handling difficult emotions, and relapse prevention and management. Data from a case series were used to inform several adaptations to enhance the acceptability of CAP to the recipients and feasibility of delivery by lay counselors of the treatment, for example expansion of the target group to include alcohol-dependent patients and the extension of the delivery settings to include home-based delivery. There was preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of CAP. Conclusions CAP is an acceptable brief PT for harmful drinking delivered by lay counselors in primary care whose effectiveness is currently being tested in a randomized controlled trial based in primary care in Goa, India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces that the Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER), the journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA), is pleased to announce awards for outstanding papers published in ACER by early career investigators. It mentions that these awards recognize outstanding scientific papers published in ACER between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 by students or postdoctoral fellows.

The article inform Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER), the journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA), is announce awards for outstanding papers published in ACER by early career investigators.

The article focuses on Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER), the journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA), is pleased to announce awards for outstanding papers published in ACER by early career investigators. Topics include the addition to being recognized in ACER and at the annual RSA meeting, awardees will receive a registration waiver for the 2021 RSA meeting and a award.

The article discusses that Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER), the journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA), is pleased to announce awards for outstanding papers published in ACER by early career investigators.

The article focuses on Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER), the journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA), has pleased to announce awards for an outstanding paper has published in ACER by an early career investigator. Topics include the role of the early career investigator in the project and write-up of the manuscript, and the potential impact of the research report on the field.