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Background and aim: Social networking sites (SNS) are interactive internet‐based social platforms that facilitate information sharing. A growing body of literature on exposure to, and self‐posting of, alcohol‐related content on SNS has examined the relationship between SNS use and alcohol consumption in young people. This study aims to synthesise the literature exploring the relationship between exposure (i.e. viewing or listening of alcohol‐related media) and self‐posting (i.e. uploading images or text of alcohol content) of alcohol‐related media on SNS on alcohol consumption. Methods: A pre‐registered systematic review was conducted in June 2022 within PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Original prospective and cross‐sectional studies assessing youth and young adults (≤ 24 years of age) that measured exposure to alcohol‐related media or posting of alcohol‐related content on SNS and self‐reported alcohol consumption outcomes were included. Meta‐analyses were conducted on comparable methodologies. Results: Thirty studies were included (n = 19,386). Meta‐analyses of cross‐sectional studies showed both greater exposure (five studies; pooled β = 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.23, 0.44, i2 = 27.7%) and self‐posting of alcohol‐related content (six studies; pooled β = 0.57, 95%CI = 0.25,0.88, i2 = 97.8%) was associated with greater alcohol consumption. Meta‐analyses of three prospective studies also identified that greater exposure predicted greater future alcohol consumption (three studies; pooled β = 0.13, 95%CI = 0.11,0.15, i2 = 0.0%). Narrative analyses of studies that could not be meta‐analysed due to incompatible methodologies were also conducted. Most studies (all four prospective, one of two cross‐sectional) identified positive associations between exposure to alcohol‐related content and greater average consumption. Most studies (three of four prospective, four of six cross‐sectional) reported a positive association between of alcohol‐related self‐posting and greater average alcohol consumption. Conclusions: Both exposure to, and self‐posting of, alcohol‐related content on social networking sites are positively associated with current average consumption, problem drinking, and drinking frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: For most treatment‐seeking patients with severe Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), abstinence is the clinically indicated goal. Existing AUD motivation scales are non‐specific about treatment consumption goals, which limit their effectiveness. Desires and mental imagery are relevant in the motivation for AUD treatment engagement. The Motivational Thought Frequency Scale for an abstinence goal (MTF‐A) was adapted from the MTF for controlled drinking (MTF‐CD). This study psychometrically evaluated the MTF‐A in an alcohol‐dependent sample engaged in treatment with a goal of abstinence. To enhance the clinical utility of the scale, a secondary aim was to evaluate a psychometrically equivalent short version of the MTF‐A. Method: A sample N of 329 treatment‐seeking patients with AUD (mean age of 44.44 years, SD = 11.89 years, 72% male) who were undertaking a cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) program for abstinence completed the Motivational Thought Frequency Scale for Abstinence (MTF‐A) and the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ). The MTF‐A measured motivation for abstinence through four factors: intensity, self‐efficacy imagery, incentives imagery, and availability. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted to examine factor structure and model fit. Cronbach's alpha assessed internal consistency. Predictive validity was determined by logistic regression predicting first‐session treatment non‐attendance and alcohol consumption between baseline assessment and commencement of treatment, controlling for potential confounds. Results: A four‐factor structure provided the best fit for the MTF‐A, compared with one‐ and three‐factor models. A shortened 9‐item MTF‐A scale (S‐MTF‐A) provided better fit than the 13‐item MTF‐A scale. Both MTF‐A and S‐MTF‐A displayed good internal consistency. Although both MTF‐A and S‐MTF‐A successfully predicted first‐session treatment non‐attendance, neither predicted alcohol consumption between the baseline assessment and commencement of treatment. Conclusions: The model fit of the four‐factor, 9‐item S‐MTF‐A was superior to the original 13‐item MTF‐A. Both scales were predictive of participation of AUD treatment. Desires and mental imagery play an important role in AUD treatment motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Modification of elevated positive expectations of alcohol consumption (alcohol outcome expectancies; AOEs) is a key feature of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) approaches to Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs). Despite extensive research supporting the efficacy of CBT for AUD, few studies have examined AOE change. This study aimed to assess AOE change following completion of CBT for AUD and its association with drinking behaviour.Method: One-hundred and seventy-five patients who completed a 12-week CBT program for AUD were administered the Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire (DEQ) at pre-treatment assessment and upon completion of treatment. Abstinence was achieved by 108 (61.7%) of completing patients. For patients who lapsed, the mean proportion of abstinent days was 93%.Results: DEQ scales assessing expectations of positive alcohol effects on tension reduction, assertiveness, and cognitive enhancement were significantly lower post-treatment (p<0.001). Expectations of negative effects on mood were higher post-treatment (p<0.001). The largest AOE change occurred on the tension reduction scale. Greater percentage of abstinent days over treatment was associated with lower pre-and post-treatment tension reduction expectancy scores (p<0.05). Drinking during treatment was associated with smaller changes in expectations of negative effects of alcohol on mood (p<0.05).Conclusions: Individuals who completed CBT treatment for AUD showed significant AOE change. Tension reduction and affective change expectancies may be particularly important for abstinence and useful markers of lapse risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Negative affect and alcohol craving are common features of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Both independently contribute to AUD severity and poorer treatment outcomes, but their relationship is poorly understood. Multidimensional alcohol craving measures now allow for examination of key dimensions of craving. This study explored the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress, and the alcohol craving dimensions of intensity, imagery and intrusiveness.Method: Five-hundred and twenty-five treatment seeking AUD patients (mean age of 39.79 years, SD = 11.57 years, 67% male) completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption items (AUDIT-C), and Alcohol Craving Experience (ACE-F) questionnaire, which measured the frequency of craving intensity, imagery and intrusiveness. Regression models predicted main effects of predictors and moderation by alcohol consumption.Results: Higher levels of stress were independently associated with increased craving intensity, imagery and intrusiveness. Significant positive associations were also found between anxiety and craving imagery. The association between depression and craving was not significant after controlling for other predictors.Conclusions: AUD patients experienced higher cravings when stressed and greater imagery when anxious. These results support the need to consider the relationships between stress and craving when managing alcohol dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rash impulsiveness, the propensity for approach behaviour despite potential negative consequences, is associated with stronger alcohol craving in patients with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). This relationship is poorly understood and implications for treatment response are unexamined. This study explored the relationship between rash impulsiveness, craving, and treatment response among 304 outpatients enrolled in a 12-week abstinence-based Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) program for AUD. Assessments were completed pre-and-post treatment, with craving and alcohol consumption monitored at each treatment session. Higher rash impulsiveness predicted more frequent craving over treatment (b = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.40, 1.50). Higher craving was associated with greater lapse-risk (b = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.03, 0.05), with the association between craving and lapse-risk increasing as treatment progressed (b = 0.01, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.02). Craving positively mediated the relationship between rash impulsiveness and lapse-risk (µ = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.10, 0.70). Contrary to hypotheses, the risk of lapse in response to craving was not moderated by rash-impulsiveness. These results suggest that AUD patients with a predisposition for rash impulsiveness are more vulnerable to alcohol craving, and subsequently, poorer treatment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]