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AbstractObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionsThe current study tested the feasibility and acceptability of a novel, Instagram-based intervention designed to reduce alcohol use and promote mindfulness and protective behavioral strategies among young adults who binge drink.Participants were 50 college students with active Instagram accounts who reported regular binge drinking over the past 3 months. Participants followed the Instagram intervention page for forty-two consecutive days. Intervention content contained at least one of the following motivational interviewing or cognitive behavioral therapy techniques: affirmations, norm referencing, protective behavioral strategies, and mindfulness exercises. Participants were instructed to ‘like’ the study posts as they appeared on their newsfeed. Some participants were exposed to additional story posts (‘Stories’) during the intervention. Feasibility was measured using retention rates. Acceptability of intervention content was measured using 5-point Likert scales across six dimensions. Alcohol consumption, alcohol-related consequences, protective behavioral strategies, and mindfulness practices were assessed before and after the intervention.Over half of eligible participants (61.4%) completed the baseline survey. The vast majority of participants (98%) followed the study Instagram page at baseline. Of those who followed the study page, all stayed followed for the intervention duration. Most participants completed the mid-intervention (90%) and post-intervention (84%) surveys. Participants rated the intervention as moderately-to-very acceptable. Preliminary analyses indicate post-intervention decreases in past-month total drinks, drinking days, binge drinking episodes, and mindfulness practices.Data support the feasibility and acceptability of delivering this intervention to college students. Future directions include testing intervention efficacy, increasing engagement, and optimizing dose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study examined prospective, bidirectional relationships between 3 measures of spirituality (Daily Spiritual Experiences, Positive Religious Coping, and Negative Religious Coping) and frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Participants: Three hundred ninety-one students attending a large, public university in the Midwest. Methods: Electronic surveys assessing predictors of college alcohol use were sent to participants in the winter of their freshman and sophomore years. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data. Results: A latent factor comprised of Daily Spiritual Experiences and Positive Religious Coping (ie, "positive spirituality") was negatively related to future frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Negative Religious Coping was unrelated to heavy episodic drinking. Additionally, heavy episodic drinking did not prospectively predict any measures of spirituality. Conclusions: Data are supportive of continued efforts to integrate positive spirituality into interventions for collegiate heavy episodic drinking.

The use of mobile health (mHealth) interventions has risen dramatically over the past two decades. It is important to consider mHealth intervention research within the broader therapy outcome literature. Among other key findings, this broader literature suggests that common relationship factors such as empathy, positive regard, and genuineness may play a critical role in therapy effectiveness. These findings raise intriguing questions for mobile interventions. For example, can mobile interventions incorporate aspects of common factors to augment their efficacy? Will the absence of relationship-based common factors make mobile interventions less effective? This viewpoint paper addresses these questions as well as related issues such as how to operationalize relationship qualities in the context of a mobile intervention and whether common relationship factors apply to computers or computerized narrators. The paper concludes by outlining a future research agenda guided by theory and empirical studies.

Background: A growing body of literature suggests that mindfulness-based interventions are effective in reducing smoking. However, existing mindfulness interventions are often lengthy and require extensive interaction with a therapist, making them inaccessible to a large percentage of the population. The current study addressed this issue by testing the feasibility and efficacy of a single session, web-based, mindfulness intervention for smoking cessation. Methods: Participants (N = 80) took part in a fully online cue exposure exercise interspersed with brief instructions on how to cope with cravings for cigarettes. All participants were randomly assigned to receive either mindfulness-based or coping as usual instructions. Outcomes included participant satisfaction with the intervention, self-reported craving following the cue exposure exercise, and cigarette use 30 days post-intervention. Results: Participants in both groups found the instructions moderately helpful and easy to understand. Participants in the mindfulness group reported a significantly smaller increase in craving than those in the control group following the cue exposure exercise. Averaging across conditions, participants reported smoking fewer cigarettes in the 30 days following the intervention than in the 30 days prior, however there were no between group differences in cigarette use. Conclusion: Mindfulness-based interventions for smoking reduction can be effectively implemented in a brief, single-session online format. These interventions are easy to disseminate and can reach a large number of smokers with minimal participant burden. Results from the current study suggest that mindfulness-based interventions can help participants control craving in the face of smoking-related cues, although perhaps not change smoking quantity. Future research is needed to explore factors which may increase the efficacy of online, mindfulness-based interventions for smoking cessation, while still maintaining their accessibility and reach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Using a framework informed by problem behavior theory, the authors examined differential relationships between religiosity and the frequency of cigarette and waterpipe tobacco smoking. Participants: Six hundred fourteen individuals beginning their freshman year at a large, public, midwestern university. Methods: Paper-and-pencil surveys were administered to students who attended freshman orientation. Electronic surveys were sent to students who did not attend orientation. Results: Although a latent, generalized religiosity factor was negatively associated with frequency of cigarette smoking, there was no such relationship for frequency of waterpipe use. Conclusions: Conceptualizing waterpipe tobacco smoking in terms of problem behavior theory may be inappropriate, given its lack of association with religiosity. These results may reflect the perception that waterpipe use is a more socially acceptable form of tobacco use that is less harmful to health than cigarette smoking, despite medical evidence to the contrary. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.

The tendency for women to report both commission and receipt of violence is an understudied phenomenon. In particular, little is known about individual differences as a function of commission vs. receipt of partner violence among pregnant women. Using a sample of 78 cohabiting low-SES pregnant women, the current study examines three violence subtypes based on self-report (primarily commission of violence, primarily receipt of violence, and no report of violence) and investigated differences in a range of other risk factors among these subtypes. In this sample, 47% reported higher levels of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration than victimization; 14% reported more IPV victimization than perpetration; and 39% reported no IPV. Results demonstrate clear differences between women reporting IPV and those not reporting IPV and clear differences between IPV subtypes in terms of partner substance use, with women reporting primarily receipt of violence also reporting more drug and alcohol abuse by their partners. Although preliminary, these findings suggest that the commission of violence may be more common during pregnancy than the receipt of violence, but that risks for these two subgroups are similar. (Contains 2 tables.)

Aims: Nearly one-fourth of African-American women receive no prenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy. The aim of the current study is to identify factors that underlie inadequate prenatal care among African-American women. Maternal alcohol abuse has been examined as one risk factor for inadequate prenatal care, but findings have been inconsistent, perhaps because (a) alcohol use during pregnancy is substantially under-reported and (b) studies have not considered the wider social network in which maternal alcohol use takes place. The current study attempts to clarify relationships between personal alcohol use, alcohol use in the home environment, and prenatal care in a sample of post-partum women. Methods: Participants were 107 low-income, primarily African-American women. All participants completed a computer-based screening which assessed personal and environmental alcohol use, prenatal care and mental health. Findings: Environmental alcohol use was related to delayed prenatal care while personal alcohol use was not. More specifically, after controlling for demographic variables, the presence of more than three person-episodes of binge drinking in a woman's home environment increased the odds of seriously compromised prenatal care by a factor of seven. Conclusions: Findings suggest the need to further assess environmental alcohol use and to examine the reliability of personal alcohol use measures. (Contains 3 tables.)

Objective: This study examined the prevalence and predictors of argileh (hookah pipe) use among a sample of nonselected college students. Method: Participants were 602 students (24% male; 43% white; mean age = 22.06) at a large, ethnically diverse, urban university. All participants completed an online survey designed to assess various types of substance use. Results: More than 15% of the sample reported having used argileh at least once in their lifetime, exceeding the percentage of students who had tried stimulants, barbiturates, co caine, Ecstasy, heroin, or psychedelics. Arab ethnicity and cigarette smoking were the strongest predictors of argileh use; however, a substantial percentage of non-Arabs and nonsmokers also had tried argileh. Conclusions: Findings suggest that, in comparison with other substances, the prevalence of argileh use is high among college students in the United States. Physical health implications of these findings are discussed., Hi Alice, My friends and I occasionally (once a week or so) like to smoke the 'Hookah' sometimes referred to in Arabic as an 'argeelay.' The tobacco that it comes [...]

Objective: This study examined the relationship between spring break vacation and changes in alcohol consumption among college students. Analyses also examined the effects of spring break activity (vacationing with friends, visiting parents, staying in college town, etc.) and selection (i.e., whether heavy drinkers are more likely to vacation with friends) on the spring break/alcohol consumption relationship. Method: Participants were 3,720 students (46% male; 90% white; mean age = 17.96) at a large midwestern university. Students were contacted during the fall and spring of their freshman, sophomore, and junior years and were asked to complete online surveys assessing (1) their typical alcohol use, (2) their alcohol use during spring break week, and (3) the activities they engaged in during spring break week. Results: Students who vacationed with friends during spring break dramatically increased their alcohol use. In contrast, students who stayed home or vacationed with parents during spring break were at low risk for excessive alcohol use. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need for targeted drinking interventions geared specifically toward students taking trips with friends. Findings also highlight the need for further research into both person and environmental variables that predict increases in drinking during spring break., COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE AT RISK for problematic alcohol use. For example, recent nationally representative studies indicate that 38%-44% of college students have engaged in heavy drinking (generally defined as five [...]

Objective: This study examines the relationship between parental alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and child violent and nonviolent delinquency. It also explores the mediating effects of executive functioning and chronic family stress on the parental AUD/child delinquency relationship, Method: Participants were 816 families with children (414 boys and 402 girls) born between 1981 and 1984 at Mater Misericordiae Mother's Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Parents and children completed semistructured interviews, questionnaires and neuropsychological tests that assessed parental alcohol use, family psychiatric history, chronic family stress, child delinquency and child executive functioning. Re suits: Paternal (but not maternal) AUDs predicted child violent and nonviolent delinquency. Executive functioning mediated the relationship between paternal AUDs and violent delinquency, whereas family stress mediated the relationship between paternal AUDs and both violent and nonviolent delinquency. Conclusions: Results support a biosocial conceptualization of the paternal AUD/delinquency relationship. They suggest that paternal AUDs may be associated with child executive functioning and Family stress, which may in turn lead to child delinquency., ALCOHOL USE DISORDERS (AUDs) are a widespread problem in the United States. Approximately 5-10% of the country's population suffers from DSM-IV alcohol abuse, and this figure appears to be growing [...]

Objective: Recent studies suggest that pre-existing aggressive personality traits moderate the relationship between alcohol use and intimate partner violence. The current study extends this literature by examining the relationship between behavioral undercontrol, patterns of alcohol use and relationship aggression in the context of a large, high-risk sample. Method: Participants were drawn from a cohort of 489 young adults taking part in an 11-year longitudinal study. Participants completed self-report measures of behavioral undercontrol, alcohol use and relationship aggression at Years 7 and 11 of the study when most were 25 and 29 years old, respectively. Results: Results revealed that a composite measure of behavioral undercontrol predicted relationship aggression cross-sectionally. Although the composite behavioral undercontrol measure did not interact with alcohol use to predict relationship aggression, one of the measures that comprised the composite (the Agreeableness scale from the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness to Experience Five Factor Inventory) did. Longitudinal analyses revealed that behavioral undercontrol measured at Year 7 did not predict relationship aggression measured at Year 11. Conclusions: Results suggest that behavioral undercontrol is related to relationship aggression outside the laboratory. Individuals with low levels of agreeableness also appear to be at heightened risk for intoxicated aggression. Potential explanations for these findings are discussed., A GROWING BODY of literature suggests a positive relationship between alcohol consumption and relationship aggression. Alcohol use has been associated with dating violence (Makepeace, 1987), marital aggression (Heyman et al., [...]

Online platforms represent a cost-effective option for data collection; however, it is unclear whether online administration of certain kinds of tasks (e.g., behavioral measures of aggression) poses validity threats. The present study provided a preliminary examination of effort (as indexed by total number of presses), differential drop-out, and believability of an online version of the single-session point subtraction aggression paradigm (PSAP). Two subsamples of participants were recruited; a sample recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk (n = 758) and an in-person undergraduate sample (n = 88). All participants completed the PSAP, along with measures of trait hostility and state anger. The online sample did not differ from the in-person sample on effort (i.e., total number of presses), and did not find the task less believable. Higher scores on state anger were associated with lower likelihood of beginning the online PSAP, but were not associated with prematurely closing the task. State anger was related to aggressive responding on the PSAP. Limitations of the online PSAP and considerations for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Factors associated with prescription opioid misuse in a chronic pain treatment population are limited, and increasing our understanding of associated factors could lead to improved targeting of prevention and intervention efforts. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate factors associated with problematic prescription opioid use in patients with chronic pain, and whether assessing emotional processes - alexithymia, ambivalence over emotional expression (AEQ), and emotional approach coping - improves understanding of problematic prescription opioid use beyond traditional risk factors. Methods: Participants were 100 patients with chronic pain (mean age = 47.57 years, SD = 11.57; 53% female; 81% African American) who were receiving a self-administered opioid medication through a local pain clinic. We assessed traditional risk factors (substance use history, pain, psychiatric distress, and pain catastrophizing), the three emotional processes, and problematic prescription opioid-related outcomes. Results: Zero-order correlations revealed that alexithymia was significantly, positively related to problematic prescription opioid use behaviors (PDUQ), and AEQ was significantly positively related to both prescription opioid misuse behaviors and opioid use disorder symptoms. Multiple regressions that included traditional risk factors and the three emotional processes indicated that AEQ was a unique correlate of problematic opioid use behaviors (β=.27, p=.04) and prescription opioid-related symptoms of abuse and dependence (β=.37, p=.01); history of substance use disorders was also associated. Conclusions: In addition to personal history of substance use problems, AEQ is a modifiable risk factor - and thus potential treatment target - for prescription opioid misuse and opioid use disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]