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This study reexamined the factor structure of drinking motives using 205 unique items from 18 drinking motives scales with the inclusion of social tension reduction motives, which have been largely neglected in the literature. A new scale was created and compared with the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) to predict alcohol use/problems. Young adults (N = 1,049) completed questionnaires assessing drinking motives and alcohol use/problems. A subset (N = 368) of participants completed a 6-month follow-up. Hierarchical factor analyses informed the creation of a four-factor (i.e., coping, social, enhancement, and social tension reduction) scale (i.e., the Young Adult Alcohol Motives Scale [YAAMS]). In general, the YAAMS performed similarly to the DMQ-R in predicting concurrent and prospective alcohol consumption (i.e., typical drinking quantity and frequency) and alcohol problems (i.e., Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test [AUDIT] and Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire [B-YAACQ] scores), but there were some notable differences, including that the novel social tension reduction scale of the YAAMS was particularly relevant in predicting drinking frequency in those with social anxiety. Results suggest that drinking motives can be described by multiple factor structures and predict alcohol-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Alcohol craving is a predictor of continued drinking and a diagnostic criterion for alcohol use disorder. Rewarding subjective effects potentiate craving, but it remains unclear if relations are expectancy-driven vs. alcohol-induced. In addition, it remains unclear if relations operate solely at the person level, or if there is also within-person dynamic change. Methods: Participants (N = 448) come from a placebo-controlled alcohol administration study. Participants in the alcohol condition reported subjective effects and alcohol craving on ascending (BAC =.068), peak (BAC =.079), and descending (BAC =.066) BAC limbs. Participants in the placebo condition were yoked to alcohol condition participants. Multilevel models tested whether (1) within-person deviations in subjective effects predicted within-person deviations in craving, (2) between-person levels of subjective effects predicted between-person levels of craving, and (3) effects were dependent upon experimental condition. Results: At the within-person level, increases in high arousal positive/stimulant effects were associated with within-person increases in alcohol craving, regardless of experimental condition. At the between-person level, interactions were observed between high arousal positive/stimulant (and low arousal positive/relaxing) effects and condition. Probing suggested that the association between person-level high arousal positive/stimulant effects and craving was statistically significant in the alcohol but not the placebo condition. Conversely, the association between person-level low arousal positive/relaxing effects and craving was positive and statistically significant in the placebo but negative in the alcohol condition. Conclusions: Findings suggest expectancy-like relations among high arousal positive/stimulant effects and craving within-person. However, alcohol-induced positive reinforcement (i.e., stimulation) facilitated heightened person-level craving, whereas expectancy-like negative reinforcement (i.e., relaxation) attenuated person-level craving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social learning theories suggest that outcome expectancies are strong determinants of behavior, and studies find that alcohol and cannabis expectancies are associated with negative substance use outcomes. However, there are no measures to date that assess expectancies for simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use (SAM), often referred to as SAM, despite strong links with negative consequences and rising time trends. The present study sought to provide initial validation of test scores for the Anticipated Effects of Simultaneous Alcohol and Cannabis Use Scale (AE-SAM), using a sample of past month college student simultaneous users (N = 434). Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis conducted in random half samples suggested five expectancy factors, representing high arousal positive, high arousal negative (alcohol driven), high arousal negative (cannabis driven), low arousal positive, and low arousal negative expectancies. The factor structure was invariant across sex, race/ethnicity, and simultaneous use frequency, and demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity with other alcohol/cannabis expectancy measures. AE-SAM high arousal positive expectancies were associated with simultaneous use frequency and heavier drinking/cannabis use, AE-SAM high arousal negative (cannabis driven) expectancies were associated with less frequent simultaneous use and more negative alcohol consequences, and AE-SAM low arousal negative expectancies were associated with less cannabis use. Effects of AE-SAM high arousal positive and high arousal negative (cannabis driven) expectancies remained, above and beyond other expectancy measures, suggesting that AE-SAM expectancies provide additional information beyond single substance expectancies. The results demonstrate the feasibility and utility of assessing simultaneous use expectancies, and lay groundwork for future research on simultaneous use expectancies in relation to alcohol and cannabis couse outcomes. Public Significance Statement: The present study provided initial development and validation of test scores for a five-factor simultaneous alcohol and cannabis expectancies measure that spanned the full range of valence (positive vs. negative) by arousal (high arousal vs. low arousal) affective space. Simultaneous use expectancies were incrementally associated with use behavior and negative substance use outcomes and should be considered in ongoing prevention efforts related to alcohol, cannabis, and couse across the lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Research suggests that impulsivity is a risk factor for problem drinking, but prior studies have yet to examine typical drinking context as a potential moderator of relations between impulsivity and drinking outcomes. Guided by Person-Environment Transactions Theory, the current study tested whether five facets of impulsivity (negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking) interacted with typical drinking context to prospectively predict drinking quantity.Method: Young adult participants (N = 448; mean age = 22.27) were recruited from a southwestern university and the surrounding community. Data from a baseline survey (Time [T] 1) and a 1-year follow-up (T2) were used for the current analyses. Impulsivity (UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale), typical drinking context, and typical drinking quantity were assessed at T1, and typical drinking quantity at T2.Results: Context items were loaded onto latent factors comprising high-arousal (e.g., at a tailgate, large house party) and low-arousal (e.g., at a restaurant, on a date) drinking contexts. In univariate (separated by UPPS-P facet) and multivariate (UPPS-P facets together) models, lack of premeditation and positive urgency interacted with high-arousal drinking contexts to predict T2 drinking, such that individuals at high/mean levels of impulsivity drank more heavily the more frequently they drank in high-arousal contexts. Only interactions in univariate models remained significant after a false discovery correction, although effect sizes were very similar across univariate and multivariate models.Conclusions: Individuals high in positive urgency and lack of premeditation may be particularly vulnerable to riskier drinking behavior in high-arousal environments. Findings advance the literature on context-specific cues that may be important intervention targets, particularly for individuals high in positive urgency and lack of premeditation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Solitary drinking (i.e., drinking alone) and coping drinking motives are risk factors for alcohol problems. Theoretical models suggest that solitary drinking and coping motives are highly related. However, the direction of effects between solitary drinking and coping motives is unclear. It also remains unclear if relations are present solely at the between-person level, or if there are also dynamic, within-person relations. Therefore, the current study tested dynamic, reciprocal relations among solitary drinking, coping motives, and alcohol problems using Random Intercept Cross Lagged Panel Modeling (RI-CLPM).Methods: Data came from a large alcohol administration study with longitudinal follow-ups over 2 years (N = 448). Participants completed a baseline session and then were followed up 6, 12, 18, and 24 months later. Participants reported their solitary drinking frequency, coping motives, drinking behavior, and alcohol problems at all assessments.Results: Person-level solitary drinking was related to person-level coping motives and alcohol problems, and person-level coping motives were related to person-level alcohol problems. There were also contemporaneous within-person effects, such that a within-person increase in solitary drinking was associated with a concurrent within-person increase in coping motives, and a within-person increase in coping motives was associated with a concurrent within-person increase in alcohol problems. There were no within-person prospective relations among any variables.Conclusions: Findings suggest strong between-person associations among solitary drinking, coping motives, and alcohol problems. Within-person associations were concurrent but not prospective. Targeting solitary and coping-motivated drinkers, as well within-person increases in both, may be effective at reducing risk for alcohol problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to stringent water quality regulations on stormwater discharges, there is increasing interest in chemically-assisted settling of suspended sediments at construction sites. This study investigated settling characteristics of flocculated sediment by polyacrylamide (PAM) in a top-loading settling tube. Studied sediment materials were obtained from construction sites in North Carolina, USA: Coastal Plain loamy sand (CPLS), Piedmont sandy clay loam (PSCL), Piedmont silt loam (PSL), and Mountain clay loam (MCL). The four different sediment suspensions mixed with and without dissolved PAM were introduced to the top of the column individually. During a 1-h settling period, samples were taken at 1-m depth from surface at various times and analyzed for total suspended solids (TSS). Flocculated sediment by PAM greatly increased its settled TSS fraction up to 95–97% only in 1-min settling period compared to those of unflocculated sediment (16–72%). The settling improvement by PAM was profound in the finer-textured soils (PSL and MCL) by increasing their median particle settling velocity (>2 cm s −1 ) compared to unflocculated counterparts (<1.1 cm s −1 ). Estimated surface area requirement of sediment basin suggested that the basins receiving flocculated sediment could be reduced in size (surface area) by 2- to 4-times compared to those receiving unflocculated sediment. Our results suggests that current sediment basin design could be modified when chemically-assisted settling is implemented, taking up less space and cost in construction sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Negative urgency was prospectively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. • Lack of premeditation was prospectively associated with heavier drinking. • Heavier drinking, depression, and anxiety were prospectively associated with alcohol problems. • Different impulsive traits demonstrated different mechanisms toward alcohol problems. • Interventions should consider personality traits when treatment planning. Impulsive personality traits are strong, consistent risk factors for heavy drinking, and modern theories suggest that impulsive traits may also confer risk for internalizing symptoms. However, it remains unclear which specific impulsive traits are linked with heavy drinking versus internalizing symptoms, and whether heavy drinking and internalizing symptoms are mechanisms of risk for negative alcohol consequences in impulsive individuals. Data are from a longitudinal study of young adults (N = 448, M age = 22.27, 43.5 % female) assessed at baseline (T1), 6 months (T2), and one year later (T3). Longitudinal path models tested whether T1 impulsive traits (i.e., lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, sensation seeking, positive urgency, negative urgency) were indirectly associated with T3 negative alcohol consequences through heavy T2 drinking and T2 internalizing symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress). Separate models were tested for positive and negative urgency given strong correlations between these measures. Across models, T1 lack of premeditation indirectly predicted more T3 negative alcohol consequences through heavy T2 drinking. When tested separately, T1 negative urgency indirectly predicted more T3 negative consequences through higher T2 stress and depressive (but not anxiety) symptoms, and T1 positive urgency predicted higher T2 anxiety symptoms, but T2 anxiety was unrelated to T3 negative consequences. Across models, T1 sensation seeking indirectly predicted less T3 negative consequences through decreased T2 depression. Distinct impulsive traits prospectively predicted heavy drinking and internalizing symptoms, both of which conferred risk for negative alcohol consequences. Findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions based on personality and suggest that decreases in drinking may be more effective prevention for those who lack premeditation, whereas decreases in internalizing, particularly depression/stress, may be critical for those high in negative urgency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]