Search

Although the prevalence of e-cigarette use among adolescents and young adults has caught up to or eclipsed that of combustible cigarette use, there is relatively little known about (a) the link between e-cigarettes and other substances and (b) the reasons underlying this increase in e-cigarette use. To address this gap in knowledge, the current study examined associations between e-cigarette use and other substances and identified motives for e-cigarette use among young adults.Participants included an ethnically diverse sample of African American, White, and Hispanic young adults (N = 662; 61% female) who were participating in an ongoing survey-based longitudinal study of health and risky behaviors.Hispanic, White, and male young adults reported significantly greater past year e-cigarette use compared to their African American and female counterparts. Bivariate correlations showed that use of e-cigarettes was positively associated with use of combustible cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, inhalants, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and misuse of over-the-counter and prescription medications. Furthermore, e-cigarette users reported a higher prevalence of substance use relative to those who did not use e-cigarettes. The taste of e-cigarettes was identified as an important motive for use.Although the potential harm associated with e-cigarettes remains largely unknown, e-cigarettes appear to be a risk marker for the use of substances that are known to pose substantial health problems. Health care providers should screen for e-cigarette use, and youth substance use prevention programs should target the reduction of e-cigarette use with particular attention to addressing their taste appeal. (Am J Addict 2017;26:343-348).

Alcohol use is one of the most widely accepted and studied risk factors for teen dating violence (TDV). Too little research has explored longitudinally if it is true that an adolescent's alcohol use and TDV involvement simultaneously occur. In the current study, we examined whether there were latent status based on past-year TDV and alcohol use and whether female adolescents changed their statuses of TDV and alcohol use over time.The sample consisted of 583 female youths in seven public high schools in Texas. Three waves of longitudinal data collected from 2011 to 2013 were utilised in this study. Participants completed self-report assessments of alcohol use (past-year alcohol use, number of drinks in the past month and episodic heavy drinking within the past month) and psychological and physical TDV victimisation and perpetration. Latent transition analysis was used to examine if the latent status based on TDV and alcohol use changed over time.Five separate latent statuses were identified: (i) no violence, no alcohol; (ii) alcohol; (iii) psychological violence, no alcohol; (iv) psychological violence, alcohol; and (v) physical and psychological violence, alcohol. Latent transition analysis indicated that adolescents generally remained in the same subgroup across time.This study provides evidence on the co-occurrence of alcohol use and teen dating violence, and whether teens' status based on dating violence and alcohol use are stable over time. Findings from the current study highlight the importance of targeting both TDV and substance use in intervention and prevention programs. [Choi HJ, Elmquist J, Shorey RC, Rothman EF, Stuart GL,Temple JR. Stability of alcohol use and teen dating violence for female youth: Alatent transition analysis. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36:80-87].

The abuse of opioids is a serious and prevalent problem and research is needed on factors that may place individuals at risk for misusing opioids. Depression is a common co-morbid mental health problem among opioid users. Theory and research suggest that early maladaptive schemas may underlie mental health problems including depression and substance abuse. The current study sought to determine whether early maladaptive schemas were associated with depression among a treatment seeking sample of male and female opioid users (n = 194). We also examined whether depression, as assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Second Edition, varied by gender and whether gender differences in depression remained after controlling for early maladaptive schemas. Results showed that women scored significantly higher than men on three of the five early maladaptive schema domains and that gender did not predict depression after controlling for schema domains. Early maladaptive schemas were also more strongly associated with depression for men than women. Implications of these findings for interventions and future research are discussed.Individuals with opioid dependence have a number of early maladaptive schemas that may be contributing to the onset and maintenance of substance use. Although there are generally broad gender differences in major depression, findings from the current study suggest that early maladaptive schemas are a better predictor of depressive symptoms than gender among opioid dependent adults. The treatment of opioid dependence, with or without co-morbid depressive symptoms, should target early maladaptive schemas.