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Communication behaviors, while extensively studied within the marital field, have received only peripheral attention in violent dating relationships. The purpose of this research was to better establish empirical continuity between the marital and dating literatures by exploring communication variables that have been identified in marital relationships broadly and their self-reported manifestation in violent dating relationships. Using Gottman's (1999) marital communication conceptualization, individuals were assessed on adaptive and maladaptive communication variables and relationship aggression. Results suggested that negative communication behaviors were associated with, and predicted, aggression in participants' dating relationships, consistent with findings from the marital literature. However, repair attempts, generally considered an adaptive communication behavior, predicted aggression victimization. Implications and how these data fit within the context of recent research on positive marital communication behaviors are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Background and Aims: Numerous studies have demonstrated that alcohol preceded and increased the odds of intimate partner violence (IPV). These prior studies were restricted to one dyad member despite theory suggesting that acute alcohol use by both partners should increase the risk for IPV to a greater degree than when only one partner drinks. We hypothesized that alcohol use by both dyad members, relative to one or no dyad members, would proximally precede and increase the odds of IPV perpetration and victimization., Design: A 60-day daily diary design was used, where both dyad members of dating couples completed independent reports on IPV perpetration/victimization and alcohol use via a secure survey website., Setting and Participants: Alcohol using college-student couples, aged 18-25 (n = 181 couples), from a Midwestern university in the United States participated. A convenience sample strategy was used., Measurements: Daily surveys asked about alcohol use and IPV perpetration and victimization the prior day, including whether alcohol use preceded or followed IPV. The primary outcome was psychological IPV; secondary outcomes were physical and sexual IPV., Findings: Longitudinal random effects models suggested statistically significant associations between drinking behavior and IPV outcomes. The odds of psychological IPV perpetration were higher when both partners were drinking relative to one partner drinking [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.06-1.99]. Exploratory analyses showed some indication that the odds of physical IPV victimization were higher when both partners were drinking relative to one partner drinking (aOR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.71-4.21)., Conclusions: The risk for intimate partner violence appears to be greater when both partners drink, relative to one partner or neither partner., (© 2024 Society for the Study of Addiction.) more...

Objective: Hookup behaviors (HUBs; i.e., sexual activity outside an exclusive relationship with no mutual expectation of romantic commitment) are prevalent on college campuses and are linked with alcohol use and sexual assault. There is limited understanding of risk factors for consensual and coercive HUBs. We examined the proximal associations between alcohol use and consensual and coercive HUBs and the moderating influence of positive urgency and alcohol-related sexual affect and drive expectancies among college men., Method: Ninety-nine college men completed a baseline assessment and 60 consecutive daily surveys assessing their alcohol use and HUBs., Results: An alcohol use day increased the odds of a consensual and coercive HUB, compared to no HUB. An alcohol use day decreased the odds of a consensual HUB, versus a coercive HUB, in the models that included alcohol-related sexual affect and drive expectancies. Only alcohol-related sexual affect expectancies was a significant moderator. An alcohol use day significantly associated with a consensual HUB, compared to no HUB, among college men at low, B = .93, p = .009, OR = 2.53 (95% CI: 1.27, 5.06), and high, B = 1.93, p < .001, OR = 6.87 (95% CI: 4.32, 10.92), levels of alcohol-related sexual affect expectancies., Conclusions: Results suggest that greater alcohol-related sexual affect expectancies may increase the odds of an alcohol-facilitated consensual HUB among college men. An alcohol use day increases the odds of engaging in a HUB and increases the odds of a coercive HUB, compared to a consensual HUB. Additional research is needed to identify risk factors for coercive HUBs. more...

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are prevalent and associated with common problems among adults with substance use disorders (SUDs), including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and compulsive behaviors. Most studies consider cumulative ACEs when examining their associations with health and behavioral outcomes. We tested whether patterns of ACEs related to SUD symptoms, PTSD symptoms, and compulsive behaviors among adults receiving treatment for substance use. We identified latent classes of ACEs using medical record data from 721 patients in residential SUD treatment and conducted Wald chi-square tests to assess whether these latent classes differed in alcohol and drug use disorder symptoms, PTSD symptoms, compulsive sexual behavior, and compulsive gambling. We identified four latent classes: high ACEs (15.1%), maltreatment (12.4%), household problems (22.3%), and low ACEs (49.1%). There were significant differences across latent classes in drug use disorder symptoms, PTSD symptoms, and compulsive sexual behavior, χ 2 (1, N = 721) = 37.42-107.07, ps < .001. Participants in the high ACEs and household problems classes had more drug use disorder symptoms than those in the low ACEs class. Relative to all other classes, individuals in the low ACEs class had the lowest PTSD symptoms and those in the high ACEs class had the highest PTSD symptoms. Findings indicate that adults with SUDs who have more ACEs have the highest risk for PTSD symptoms and compulsive sexual behavior. Screening for ACEs while considering ACE patterns and frequency may benefit treatment planning for SUD patients with comorbid concerns such as PTSD symptoms and compulsive sexual behavior., (© 2024 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.) more...

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern among young adults and has shown a consistent association with alcohol use. However, previous research has used cross-sectional and daily diary designs that may fail to pinpoint the effects of alcohol use within several hours of IPV occurring. The present study used novel ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods to investigate the bidirectional effect of alcohol use and IPV victimization among young adults with a history of IPV perpetration., Methods: One hundred and sixty-eight young adults (age 18-25 years) in a dating relationship who reported IPV perpetration in the past year completed 28 days of randomly prompted EMA surveys (four surveys daily). The effect of alcohol use on IPV victimization and the effect of IPV victimization on alcohol use were examined., Results: The results indicated that alcohol use co-occurs with psychological and physical IPV victimization. Further, alcohol use significantly increased the odds of physical (OR = 4.94; 95% CI = 2.24-10.87) and sexual (OR = 4.66; 95% CI = 1.64-13.22) IPV victimization, but not psychological IPV victimization, in the subsequent EMA survey. Finally, IPV victimization did not significantly increase the odds of reporting alcohol use in the subsequent EMA survey., Conclusions: Using alcohol is proximally related to IPV victimization among those with a history of IPV perpetration. Intervention efforts would benefit from adapting EMA methods to provide resources the moment they are needed., (© 2024 Research Society on Alcohol.) more...

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. A posited mechanism explaining the link between ACEs and IPV is alcohol use consequences. Yet, few studies have examined this relationship among sexual minority young adults or how chronic and unique discrimination due to their marginalized identity (i.e., minority stress) may influence these associations. This study examined whether alcohol use consequences mediated the relationship between ACEs and IPV perpetration, and whether minority stress moderated this mediated relationship. Sexual minority young adults who used alcohol in the past month ( N  = 344; age 18-25) in a dating relationship completed a survey on ACEs, IPV, alcohol and minority stress. We hypothesized: (a) alcohol use consequences would mediate the association between ACEs and IPV perpetration and (b) higher discrimination would moderate the mediation of alcohol use consequences in the relationship between ACEs and IPV perpetration. ACEs ( B   =  0.74, p   =  .010) and alcohol use consequences ( B   =  0.64, p   =  .007), were significantly associated with psychological, but not physical, IPV perpetration. Alcohol use consequences did not mediate the association between ACEs and any IPV type. In addition, everyday discrimination was not a significant moderator. ACEs and alcohol use consequences contribute to the risk for IPV perpetration among sexual minority young adults. Future research is needed to determine how alcohol use consequences may impact risk for IPV perpetration among those who have experienced ACEs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article. more...

Sexual minority (SM) men's sexual revictimization (SR; i.e. experiences of adult victimization among childhood sexual abuse survivors) is an understudied topic despite evidence that SM men are disproportionately impacted by sexual violence (SV) over the life course. This study addresses this gap utilizing a diverse sample ( n  = 2859) of SM men (age 18-30) from the U.S. Results demonstrated that over 10% of SM men had experienced SR. Further, strength-based (e.g. sense of LGBTQIA2S+ community) and minority-stress (e.g. internalized homonegativity) related factors were examined as moderators of the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and adult sexual assault victimization (ASAV) in the past six months. One factor emerged as a significant moderator of the CSA-ASAV relationship: perceived discrimination. Practice-based implications are provided. more...

Objective: Sexual and gender diverse (SGD) individuals are at heightened risk for intimate partner aggression (IPA) perpetration relative to their heterosexual and cisgender peers. Alcohol is a well-established cause of IPA perpetration in cisgender, heterosexual couples; however, minimal research has investigated the alcohol-IPA perpetration link in SGD couples. The relative lack of work in this area is a major barrier to addressing this health disparity. SGD individuals experience unique stressors related to their and/or their partner's intersecting minoritized identities that are critical to understanding alcohol-IPA etiology and informing culturally affirming intervention programming., Method: We advance prior work by members of the authorship team (see Parrott et al., 2023a; Shorey et al., 2019) to propose an integrative theoretical model that invokes (1) the I 3 Model to organize risk and resilience factors at the individual and dyadic level, and (2) Alcohol Myopia Theory to explain the mechanism by which proximal alcohol use facilitates IPA as a function of individual differences in those factors., Results: This integrative model provides a framework to understand how the confluence of stigma, minority stressors, proximal alcohol use, and other factors contribute to IPA perpetration in SGD couples., Discussion: Application of this integrative model has potential to facilitate more rigorous research (e.g., intensive longitudinal designs, dyadic analysis) focused on putative risk and resilience factors across the social ecology. Further, the model provides guidance for intervention development by identifying how individual (e.g., minority stress), relationship (e.g., relationship functioning), and structural factors (e.g., SGD stigma) interactively contribute to alcohol-facilitated IPA perpetration. more...

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly prevalent and have deleterious effects on one's health and well-being. Inpatient treatment for SUDs reduces patient relapse, which subsequently ameliorates these negative effects on the individual and society. Additionally, those who complete treatment are less likely to relapse compared to those who do not complete treatment. Thus, maintaining patient engagement in treatment and reducing the rates of those leaving against medical advice (AMA) is particularly important. Examining the factors and comorbidities that may contribute to treatment dropout has the potential to identify at-risk patients in need of additional individualized intervention. The current study aimed to examine comorbid anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as predictors of dropout AMA in a residential substance use treatment population. Results showed that patients with social anxiety were more likely to leave treatment AMA, while those with PTSD were more likely to complete treatment. Findings suggest that PTSD-specific treatment, as offered in this facility, may help with patient retention, while group focused therapy may be distressing to those with social anxiety. Clinical implications of this research may include incorporating evidence-based practice for social anxiety early during inpatient treatment to reduce anxiety such that patients may better engage with SUDs treatment., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.) more...

Background: Alcohol and cannabis use rates are highest in college-aged young adults, and both alcohol and cannabis use are independently related to high-risk sexual behaviors (HRSBs). HRSBs (e.g., sex without protection against sexually transmitted infections) are a prevalent public health problem in college students, with little research examining simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use (i.e., using both alcohol and cannabis at the same time so the effects overlap) and HRSBs., Method: We examined simultaneous alcohol and cannabis-related HRSB frequency, gender differences in simultaneous alcohol and cannabis-related HRSBs, and differences in HRSBs between simultaneous and non-simultaneous users. Alcohol and cannabis using college students ( N = 534; Average Age = 19; 66.9% reported identifying as female) were recruited through a psychology department's human subjects research pool and completed a one-time, online, self-report survey., Results: One-third of participants engaged in simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use prior to sexual intercourse in the past 3 months. Additionally, over one-third of participants reported heavy drinking (4/5 or more drinks for women/men) simultaneously with cannabis use prior to sexual intercourse in the past 3 months. Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use was significantly and positively related to sexual intercourse after simultaneous use and after heavy drinking simultaneously with cannabis use. Past year simultaneous alcohol and cannabis users, relative to non-simultaneous users, reported increased incidents of sex without protection against sexually transmitted infections. No gender differences in simultaneous alcohol and cannabis-related HRSBs were found., Conclusions: Future research should continue examining simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use and HRSBs., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 Authors et al.) more...

Objective: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is highly prevalent among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults. Integrated theories of minority stress and alcohol-related IPV suggest minority stress risk and protective factors should interact with alcohol use to predict IPV, although this has never been examined in TGD adults. Thus, we examined the synergistic influence of alcohol use, minority stress, and TGD community connectedness on IPV perpetration among TGD adults., Method: A sample of 137 TGD adults completed a cross-sectional survey assessing minority stressors (i.e., internalized transnegativity, identity outness), TGD community connectedness, alcohol use/problems, and IPV perpetration (i.e., psychological, physical, and gender minority identity-specific abuse). We regressed each form of IPV perpetration on alcohol use/problems and tested the moderating effect of internalized transnegativity, identity outness, and community connectedness on the association between alcohol use/problems and IPV perpetration., Results: The association between alcohol use/problems and all forms of IPV perpetration were moderated by internalized transnegativity and identity outness, but not TGD community connectedness. Alcohol use/problems related to each form of IPV perpetration at low and medium, but not high levels, of identity outness and internalized transnegativity., Conclusions: Alcohol use/problems is an important risk factor for IPV perpetration among TGD adults and this association may be exacerbated by less identity outness. Further, internalized transnegativity might not influence IPV risk at high levels of alcohol use. TGD-affirming IPV prevention programs might focus on reducing alcohol use and related problems while providing a safe and accessible space for TGD individuals at various levels of identity outness. more...

Residential treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) is effective at reducing substance use, dependence, and other related problems. However, dropout from treatment against medical advice (AMA) is common in residential treatment settings. Studies have shown that impulsivity is associated with substance misuse and treatment dropout in predominately male samples, but less is known regarding whether impulsivity dimensions predict treatment dropout among women. This study examined impulsivity dimensions (ie, negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation, and sensation seeking) as predictors of dropout AMA among women in a residential substance use treatment facility (N = 229). Logistic regression results demonstrated that elevations in lack of perseverance and sensation seeking were associated with an increased odds of treatment dropout AMA and that lack of premeditation was associated with a decreased odds of treatment dropout AMA. Study findings suggest that early evidence-based interventions for sensation seeking and lack of perseverance may improve retention of women in residential treatment., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Gregory Stuart conducts psychoeducational treatment groups for patients at Cornerstone of Recovery for a maximum of 3.5 hours per week. Dr. Stuart does not do any study recruitment, is not informed which patients do or do not participate in research, and does not mention anything about research to the patients attending groups. In addition, Gregory Stuart serves as the Editor in Chief of the journal., (© The Author(s) 2024.) more...

Objective: The prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) is high, with young adults at increased risk. IPV is largely understood as a dyadic process, as it involves both partners and is inherently influenced by the behaviors of both partners. The objective of this study was to examine the proximal influence of relationship satisfaction and conflict on same-day and nextday IPV perpetration among young adult couples., Method: This study used data from young adult couples ( N = 172) who completed a 60-day daily-diary design. The Actor Partner Interdependence Model was used to examine whether within- and between-person levels of relationship satisfaction and conflict were associated with same-day and next-day IPV perpetration., Results: Results suggest that high levels of one's own and one's partner's relationship satisfaction was associated with low levels of same-day and next-day psychological IPV. For women, but not men, high levels in their own and their partner's relationship satisfaction were associated with low levels in same-day physical IPV perpetration. Conversely, high levels in one's own and their partner's conflict was associated with high levels of same-day psychological IPV perpetration. For women, but not men, high levels in their partner's conflict were associated with high levels of same-day physical IPV perpetration., Conclusion: Results suggest that relationship dissatisfaction and conflict may be proximal risk factors for IPV perpetration, particularly psychological IPV perpetration, implying these factors may be effective targets for prevention and intervention., Competing Interests: We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. more...

Alcohol use correlates with psychological partner abuse (PA) perpetration among lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and other nonheterosexual (LGBQ+) young adults. However, less is known about the proximal association between alcohol use and psychological PA within this population, which would provide valuable information for intervention development. Informed by minority stress and alcohol-related PA theories, we evaluated whether (a) psychological PA perpetration odds increased as the number of drinks consumed prior to psychological PA on a given day increased, (b) psychological PA perpetration odds were greater following heavy episodic drinking (HED) relative to non-HED, and (c) experiencing LGBQ+-specific discrimination (i.e., heterosexist harassment, incivility, and hostility) strengthened the association between daily alcohol use (number of drinks, HED) and subsequent psychological PA perpetration. LGBQ+ college students ( N  = 41; 75.6% women, 22.0% men, and 2.4% transgender/non-binary) completed a baseline survey of past-year discrimination before completing daily reports of their alcohol use and psychological PA for 60 consecutive days. Multilevel modeling revealed that drinking more than one usually does on a given day is positively associated with subsequent psychological PA odds ( OR  = 1.31, p  < .001). Psychological PA was more likely following HED relative to non-HED ( OR  = 3.23, p  < .001). Unexpectedly, experiencing discrimination was negatively associated with psychological PA odds across models ( OR  = .26 p  = .01). No alcohol × discrimination interactions emerged. Results support alcohol use as a proximal risk factor for psychological PA among LGBQ+ college students and underscore the need for more nuanced examination of discrimination and other contextual variables in alcohol-related PA., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article. more...

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and other sexual minority (LGBQ+) young adults report similar or higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration than their heterosexual peers. Elevated IPV risk among LGBQ+ young adults may be attributable to experiencing heterosexist discrimination and internalized homophobia. In addition, LGBQ+ people report disproportionate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, alcohol use, and IPV perpetration in dating relationships. Thus, this study explored which combinations of IPV risk factors (i.e., experiencing heterosexist discrimination, internalized homophobia, PTSD symptoms, alcohol use) related to forms of IPV perpetration, inclusive of psychological, physical, and sexual forms, in a sample of 342 LGBQ+ young adults. Internalized homophobia was related to psychological IPV perpetration at high and medium levels of PTSD symptoms and only high levels of alcohol use. PTSD symptoms and alcohol use interacted to predict psychological IPV perpetration; and PTSD symptoms related to increased psychological IPV perpetration at high and medium, but not low, alcohol use levels. Alcohol use was positively related to physical IPV perpetration. No other risk factors or interactions were significantly related to physical or sexual IPV perpetration. Results were consistent with prior findings that linked internalized homophobia, alcohol use, and PTSD symptoms to IPV perpetration and highlight the interacting nature of these IPV perpetration risk factors. Comprehensive IPV interventions with LGBQ+ young adults should evaluate the impact of simultaneously targeting these multiple IPV risk factors considering their interacting contributions to IPV perpetration risk. More research is needed to examine the temporal relations between minority stress, PTSD symptoms, alcohol use, and IPV perpetration., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article. more...

Background: Despite the prevalence and negative outcomes associated with simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use (i.e., marijuana [SAM] use; i.e., so that the effects of both alcohol and cannabis overlap) among college students, there is no comprehensive measure of SAM use, with past research relying on single items. The present studies aimed to develop the Alcohol and Cannabis Simultaneous Use Scale (ACSUS), a comprehensive self-report measure of SAM use frequency, quantity, and problems in college students., Methods: College students at two Midwestern universities who used alcohol and cannabis (Study 1: N =534; Mean age=19; 71% female; 88% White; Study 2: N =258; Mean age=21; 81% female; 85% White) completed the newly developed ACSUS., Results: Exploratory factor analysis (Study 1) revealed the ACSUS fit best with 9-items representing two factors: Factor 1 measures frequency and quantity of SAM use, and Factor 2 measures associated problems with SAM use. Confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2) supported the two-factor structure of the ACSUS which was positively associated with measures of alcohol use, cannabis use, simultaneous use motives, and impulsivity., Conclusions: These data provide initial support for the ACSUS, developed to investigate the frequency, quantity, and associated problems with SAM use in college students., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest. more...

Reproductive coercion is any behavior that attempts to control the autonomous reproductive decision-making of an intimate partner. Very little research has focused on males who perpetrate reproductive coercion. Using a diverse community sample of young adults, we examined the prevalence of lifetime reproductive coercion perpetration and its relationship with other forms of intimate partner violence (IPV). Results demonstrated that approximately 6.4% of the men reported perpetrating reproductive coercion in their lifetime. Chi-square analyses demonstrated that men who reported sexual (16.2%), physical (11.1%), or psychological (59.1%) IPV perpetration, relative to men who did not, reported a significantly higher prevalence of reproductive coercion perpetration., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. more...

Given the growing body of research seeking to examine adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals, Institutional Review Boards must consider whether participating in violence research is emotionally distressing for SGM people. Yet, little research has studied SGM participants' reactions to participating in research on ACEs, IPV, and minority stress. Thus, the current study examined reactions, including negative emotional reactions, to participating in violence research among SGM young adults. In total, 230 participants who self-identified as a sexual minority (30.1% also identified as a gender minority) in a dating relationship completed a cross-sectional assessment on ACEs, IPV (including identity abuse victimization and perpetration), minority stress (i.e., internalized homo/bi/transphobia), and reactions to research participation. Results indicated that participants identifying as a gender minority had significantly higher negative emotional reactions to study participation compared to cisgender participants, but this increase among gender minority individuals was small. In addition, gender minority participants and those with higher minority stress (i.e., internalized trans/bi/homo-negativity) and ACEs reported significantly higher negative emotional reactions to participation. Furthermore, gender minority participants scored worse on a scale indicating appreciation for contributing to research. Finally, reporting IPV victimization and perpetration was not associated with negative emotional reactions. Findings suggest that questions assessing minority stress and negative childhood experiences may be more emotionally salient or stressful for gender minority participants compared to questions measuring IPV. more...

Reproductive coercion is a serious public health problem. Victimization has been associated with poor mental health outcomes, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in clinical and college samples. We build on these findings by examining the association between reproductive coercion victimization and mental and behavioral health outcomes, including depression, PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and drinking behaviors in a diverse community-derived sample of female-identifying young adults (mean age = 20; SD=.72). Participants ( n  = 368) were originally recruited as part of a study on dating violence in seven Texas public high schools. Participants completed an online study that included demographic questions and measures that assessed the variables of interest. Results of regression analyses showed that reproductive coercion victimization predicted depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms, after controlling for race, sexual orientation, and age. The findings also revealed that victims of reproductive coercion were more likely consume more drinks per drinking occasion compared to their non-victimized counterparts. These results add to the growing literature that experiencing reproductive coercion is a risk marker for poor mental and behavioral health. To develop targeted prevention and intervention programs, future research should examine potential mechanisms underlying this relationship. more...

Despite a rise in women being arrested for domestic violence and court-ordered to batterer intervention, batterer interventions remain limited in their ability to address women's treatment needs. Alcohol use is an important intervention target: one-third of women in batterer interventions have an alcohol-related diagnosis, half engage in at-risk drinking, and alcohol use contributes to intimate partner violence (IPV) and batterer intervention dropout. Research has not evaluated whether adding an alcohol intervention to batterer intervention improves women's alcohol use and IPV outcomes. We randomized 209 women (79.9% white) in Rhode Island to receive the state-mandated batterer intervention program alone or the batterer intervention program plus a brief alcohol intervention. Alcohol use (percentage of days abstinent from alcohol [PDAA], number of drinks per drinking day [DPDD], percentage of heavy drinking days [PHDD], percentage of days abstinent from alcohol and drugs [PDAAD]), and IPV perpetration and victimization frequency (psychological, physical, and sexual IPV, injury) data were collected at baseline and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. Multilevel modeling revealed that, relative to the batterer intervention alone, women who received the brief alcohol intervention reported a higher PDAA and PDAAD, fewer DPDD, and a lower PHDD across all follow-up assessments. Women who received the brief alcohol intervention perpetrated less physical IPV and experienced less injury than did women who only received the batterer intervention. For physical IPV, these differences became more pronounced over time. No other group differences or group x time interactions emerged. Adding an alcohol intervention may improve batterer intervention outcomes for women arrested for domestic violence., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors of this article declare no conflict of interest. more...

The prevalence of experiencing sexual assault is alarmingly high among Transgender and Gender Diverse people (TGD; people whose gender identities and/or expressions are not traditionally associated with their sex assigned at birth) and is associated with various mental health sequalae. Perceived social support has been shown to abate the negative outcomes of sexual assault among cisgender individuals, yet little is known about this association among TGD people, especially which provider of support (i.e., family, friends, or significant others) may be most beneficial. To that end, 191 TGD adults were recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk to examine perceived social support as a potential moderator of the association between sexual assault victimization and post-sexual assault trauma symptomology. Results showed an interaction trending toward significance between sexual assault and support from a significant other. Decomposition of this interaction demonstrated that sexual assault was associated with post-assault trauma symptoms when support from a significant other was low (ß = .25, p < .05) but not high (ß = .10, p = .089). The interaction between sexual assault and perceived social support was not significant for perceived support from friends ( p = .133) or family ( p = .954). Findings highlight the need for additional research on perceived social support as a potential buffering mechanism between sexual assault and post-assault symptomology in TGD people. more...

Reproductive coercion is an understudied form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that occurs when a person attempts to control the autonomous reproductive decision making of their intimate partner. Previous research has demonstrated that individuals who experience reproductive coercion are more likely to experience other forms of IPV (e.g., physical and sexual). Research has also shown that Black/African American and Latinx/Hispanic individuals are at an increased risk of experiencing reproductive coercion compared to their White/Non-Hispanic peers. However, most of the research on reproductive coercion has been conducted in family-planning clinics where IPV is reported at a higher rate than in community samples. Thus, using a diverse community sample of female-identifying young adults ( N = 370) who were recruited as part of an ongoing longitudinal study on dating violence, we examined the prevalence of lifetime reproductive coercion and its relationship with other forms of IPV, as well as the differences in prevalence among racial and ethnic groups. Lifetime prevalence of being victimized by any form of reproductive coercion was 11.4%. Results indicated that individuals who experienced reproductive coercion were more likely to experience physical and sexual IPV relative to those who did not experience reproductive coercion. With respect to race/ethnicity, 5.6% of White participants, 10.5% of Black/African American participants, and 14.8% of Hispanic/Latinx participants reported experiencing reproductive coercion. Chi-square analyses showed Hispanic/Latinx participants had a significantly higher prevalence of reproductive coercion when compared to White/Non-Hispanic participants. These findings suggest a need for additional research on culturally-specific risk and protective factors related to reproductive coercion among Hispanic/Latinx individuals to identify potential intervention and prevention strategies. more...

Objective: Research and theory support alcohol use as a proximal antecedent to in-person partner abuse (PA). However, event-level research has not examined cyber PA thereby limiting our understanding of whether alcohol use proximally relates to cyber PA., Method: We collected daily data on alcohol use and cyber PA from college students ( N = 236; 73.3% women) for 60 consecutive days. Controlling for cyber PA victimization, we evaluated whether college students who consumed more drinks perpetrated more cyber PA (between-person effects), whether cyber PA was more likely to occur on days in which alcohol use was higher than each individual's average (within-person effect), and whether within- and between-person associations between alcohol use and cyber PA varied by sex., Results: Women were more likely than men to perpetrate cyber PA but there were no sex differences in the association between alcohol use and cyber PA. Multilevel modeling revealed that neither higher average alcohol use, nor drinking more than one usually does on a given day, associated with odds of subsequent cyber PA. Although alcohol use did not associate with odds of subsequent cyber PA, posthoc analyses revealed that odds of cyber PA increased as alcohol use increased, regardless of whether drinking occurred before or after cyber PA. Thus, alcohol use may have been more likely to occur after cyber PA., Conclusions: Results did not support alcohol use as a proximal antecedent to college students' cyber PA. Future research should investigate of cyber PA as a proximal risk factor for subsequent alcohol use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved). more...

Despite alarming rates of sexual assault on college campuses, little research has examined risk factors for sexual victimization among LGBTQ+ college students. This exploratory study aims to examine adolescent sexual assault, internalized homonegativity, and problematic alcohol use as mediators linking several types of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; i.e., childhood sexual abuse, parental abuse, and household disorder) to collegiate sexual assault. Utilizing data from 241 LGBTQ+ college students, path analysis findings demonstrated that these proposed mediators increased risk for sexual assault and that various types of ACEs exerted differential impacts on sexual re-victimization, internalized homonegativity, and problematic alcohol use. Practice-based implications are offered, including the need for affirming programming that includes problem drinking prevention components and considers the role of ACEs and internalized homonegativity in increasing risk for sexual assault during college as well as the need for LGBTQ+ resource centers on campus. more...

Background: There is a paucity of literature documenting whether trauma patients with different mechanisms of injury have different rates of hazardous alcohol use and/or risk for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder., Objective: The purpose of this article is to determine whether there are associations between mechanism of injury, hazardous drinking, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Secondary objectives were to examine associations prior to and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of 5 years of trauma registry data of adult trauma patients (older than 18 years) admitted to a Midwestern Level I trauma center conducted from January 2016 to November 2020. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the association of gender, race, and mechanism of injury on hazardous drinking and posttraumatic stress disorder and depression., Results: A total of 9,392 trauma patients completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption Items to identify hazardous drinking, and 5,012 completed the Injured Trauma Survivor Screen to identify risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder and/or depression. The proportion of patients screening positive for hazardous drinking was higher for motor vehicle collisions (21.9%) than for gunshot wounds (17.6%) or falls (18.8%; χ2(2) = 14.311, p < .001). Those involved in motor vehicle collisions were also at a higher risk for the development of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (54.5%) relative to falls (33.5%) but not gunshot wounds (50.7%; χ2(2) = 200.185, p < .001). The impact of COVID-19 revealed increased hazardous drinking, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder in patients with falls and motor vehicle collisions but not gunshot wounds., Conclusions: Motor vehicle collision patients are at most risk for hazardous drinking concomitant with risk for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. These results help focus future research efforts toward interventions that can reduce these risks., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Society of Trauma Nurses.) more...

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) women (i.e., individuals who were assigned male at birth and identify as women or trans women) experience trauma at disproportionate rates compared to cisgender populations. While trauma is associated with increased alcohol use among TGD women, research regarding factors that are protective of this association is scant. The stress-buffering hypothesis of social support suggests that perceived social support, defined as the judgment that social network members will be helpful when individuals experience stress, may buffer and reduce the association between trauma symptoms and alcohol use. However, this relationship has not been examined among TGD women. We examined whether perceived social support moderates the association between trauma and alcohol use among 89 TGD women. Exploratory multiple regression analyses provided support for this hypothesis, insofar as trauma symptoms were related to alcohol use by individuals with low, relative to high levels of perceived social support. Exploratory analyses demonstrated that this finding was driven by perceived social support from friends and family. Our results are the first to suggest that social support reduces alcohol use among TGD women and add to the literature on their trauma and alcohol use., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.) more...

Objective: Aggressive behaviors are consistently linked to alcohol use and are over-represented among individuals in substance misuse treatment compared to the general population. Trait mindfulness (i.e., a multifaceted construct including attending to and accepting experiences) had an inverse relationship with aggression such that greater trait mindfulness may attenuate the risk alcohol use poses for aggression., Method: We examined the moderating effect of the five facets of trait mindfulness on the relationship between alcohol use/problems and aggressive attitudes, physical aggression, and verbal aggression among 516 men in residential treatment for substance use disorders., Results: Explication of the significant interactions utilizing the Johnson-Neyman technique revealed alcohol use/problems positively related to aggressive attitudes for men with below average and average Nonreactivity and Acting mindfulness facets. The positive relationship between alcohol use/problems and verbal aggression was present among men below average in Nonreactivity and Acting. Alcohol use/problems positively related to physical aggression among men below average and average in the mindfulness facets of Describe and Acting. Furthermore, alcohol use/problems positively related to aggressive attitudes and physical aggression among men average or above average in the mindfulness facet of Observe., Conclusions: Findings suggest that among men who misuse substances, the relation between alcohol use and aggression may be conditional and influenced by deficits in trait mindfulness. more...

Masculine and feminine gender roles influence stressor appraisals and coping in everyday life, but their effect on stress response systems like the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis is unclear. Accordingly, the present study tested the association between gender roles and cortisol responses to repeated stress as part of secondary analyses of data from a randomized controlled trial examining the effects of stress management interventions on cortisol habituation. Participants (N final = 86; 72% female) completed a baseline survey assessing gender role endorsement using the Bem Sex Role Inventory, from which 4 groups were derived: masculine ( n  = 20), feminine ( n  = 20), androgynous (high masculinity, high femininity; n  = 22), and undifferentiated (low masculinity, low femininity; n  = 24). Following the stress management intervention (mindfulness-based stress reduction or cognitive-behavioral skills training) or waitlist period control, participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test on two laboratory visits (48 h apart). Salivary cortisol was assessed 0, 25, 35, and 60 min post-stressor during both laboratory visits. Androgynous and undifferentiated individuals both exhibited a significant decrease in total cortisol from visit 1 to visit 2 (i.e. habituation) whereas feminine and masculine individuals did not. Undifferentiated individuals exhibited greater habituation than feminine and masculine individuals, whereas androgynous individuals only exhibited greater habituation than the feminine group. Controlling for study condition assignment did not alter these results. Results imply that gender roles may be implicated in stress-related disease because of their association with HPA axis functioning during episodes of acute stress. more...

Given the prevalence of technology, cyber dating abuse (DA) emerged as an important area of empirical inquiry. Cross-sectional data linked cyber DA perpetration to alcohol problems and psychological and physical DA perpetration. However, the longitudinal relations among these constructs are unknown. DA theory and research suggested that higher levels of aggressogenic traits (e.g., emotion dysregulation) increased the likelihood that alcohol problems and DA co-occur; this conceptual model may extend to cyber DA. We collected self-report data from 578 college students at baseline (T1) and 3 months later (T2) to test the hypothesis that T1 alcohol problems would predict T2 psychological, physical, and cyber DA for students with high, but not low, emotion dysregulation. We also hypothesized that T1 cyber DA would predict T2 psychological and physical DA. We conducted path analyses in Mplus and used the Johnson-Neyman technique to probe significant interactions. Results indicated that alcohol problems predicted psychological and physical DA for college students with high and average emotion dysregulation only. Alcohol problems did not predict cyber DA independently or in conjunction with emotion dysregulation. Cyber DA predicted psychological and physical DA. Results extend DA conceptualizations and highlight the importance of targeting emotion dysregulation in college DA intervention programs. more...

Within the past several decades, dating violence has emerged as a major health problem, with rates of physical violence ranging from 20% to 30% and psychological aggression ranging from 60% to 90% in college dating relationships. Despite this, there have been few successful dating violence prevention programs developed. Thus, it is imperative that research can identify the relationship between potential protective factors, such as trait mindfulness, and dating violence perpetration. This study builds upon previous research on mindfulness and dating violence by investigating this question within a sample of female undergraduate students at two universities ( N = 381) over the course of one semester. Findings suggested that the nonjudging aspect of mindfulness was associated with less perpetration of psychological and physical aggression approximately 3 months later. Furthermore, several facets of mindfulness were able to differentiate individuals who perpetrated aggression at Time 2 relative to individuals without a history of perpetration. These findings build on previous work in the field and suggest that mindfulness may play an important role in the manifestation of dating violence. Directions for future research on the relation between mindfulness and dating violence are discussed. more...

Objectives: There is limited research examining the relationship between alcohol use and eating pathology in men or factors that may moderate this association. The current study investigated the relationship between alcohol use and eating pathology, and examined emotion dysregulation as a moderator of this association, among heavy-drinking college men., Method: Men mandated to receive an alcohol intervention (N = 88; average age = 19 years) completed questionnaires related to alcohol use, emotion dysregulation, and eating pathology., Results: Results demonstrated positive relationships between alcohol use and some eating pathology, and a significant interaction between alcohol use and emotion dysregulation. However, results were contrary to hypotheses, such that there was a positive relationship between alcohol use and eating pathology at low levels of emotion dysregulation., Conclusion: Future studies should continue to examine the overall presentation of eating pathology in men and investigate factors that may impact the relationship between alcohol use and eating pathology., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.) more...

Given the risk of substance use (SU) among adolescents in the child welfare system, identification of risk for prospective impairing SU behaviors is a significant public health priority. We sought to quantify the incremental validity of routine multi-informant assessments of adolescent psychological distress (i.e., the Child Behavior Checklist and Youth Self-Report) and a commonly used SU screening protocol (i.e., the CRAFFT) to predict SU at 18 and 36 months after baseline in a nationally representative child welfare sample ( N = 1,054; M age = 13.72). We used receiver operator characteristics and reclassification analyses to develop our algorithms. We found that a battery consisting of baseline CRAFFT scores, self-reported delinquent behavior, and parent-reported rule-breaking behavior provided an incrementally valid prediction model for SU behavior among females, while baseline CRAFFT scores and self-reported delinquent behavior incrementally predicted SU for males. Results suggest that leveraging existing assessments within the child welfare system can improve forecasting of SU risk for this population. more...

Communication skill deficits are thought to contribute to teen dating violence (TDV), parallel to the inclusion of these throughout prevention curricula. Communication research among adolescents is highly underdeveloped, although a preliminary study utilizing Gottman's marital communication conceptualization found that a majority of negative communication behaviors predictive of marital distress were also associated with relationship aggression among primarily White college students. Our aim was to replicate this study with diverse samples of adolescents (50.3% Latino, 23.5% Black; M age = 16.06). Urban high school youth, pregnant and parenting youth in residential foster care, and youth in urban after-school programs self-reported on their use of maladaptive and adaptive communication behaviors, relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction, commitment), and emotional, physical, sexual, relational, and threatening dating violence. Across samples, maladaptive communication and particularly flooding (i.e., the tendency to become overwhelmed, leave the argument) and the four horsemen (i.e., a cascading and negative communication sequence) were associated with higher likelihood of multiple types of TDV. Relationship quality was associated with decreased likelihood for TDV among high school and after-school youth samples, but with increased likelihood among youth in foster care. Results indicate that youth utilize a wide range of both adaptive and maladaptive communication behaviors, and that similar maladaptive patterns predictive of relationship distress in young adulthood and in marriage are also associated with distress in adolescents' dating relationships. Equipping youth with adaptive communication skills as part of a comprehensive approach to reducing TDV and enhancing healthy relationships is meaningful for diverse adolescents. Further research is warranted concerning youth's perceptions of relationship quality and risk of TDV. more...

Recent decades witnessed a surge in pornography use, contributing to what some researchers referred to as problematic pornography use (PPU; excessive, compulsive, and uncontrollable pornography use). Informed by cognitive scripts theory, cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental research spanning several decades documented a positive association between men's pornography use and physical and sexual violence perpetration. However, there is a paucity of research investigating pornography use broadly, and PPU specifically, among men who perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV). The present cross-sectional study investigated the association between self-reported PPU and physical and sexual IPV perpetration among 273 men in batterer intervention programs. After accounting for psychiatric symptomology and substance use and problems, results revealed a positive association between PPU and both physical and sexual IPV perpetration. Findings highlighted the need for continued investigation of the function of pornography use for violent men, particularly as it relates to physical and sexual IPV perpetration. more...

A large literature documents that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration among adults. However, research on this relationship among adolescents and young adults has been plagued by methodological flaws (e.g., cross-sectional designs). Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the longitudinal and bidirectional associations between PTSD symptoms and psychological and physical IPV perpetration from adolesence to young adulthood. A sample of racially and ethnically diverse high school students ( N = 1,042; 56% female) were assessed annually for 6 years (from 2010 to 2015 in Southeastern Texas). At each assessment, participants completed measures of PTSD symptoms and psychological and physical IPV perpetration. The mean age of the sample at the first assessment was 15.09 ( SD = .79). Structural equation modeling demonstrated that PTSD symptoms at Years 2, 3, and 4 predicted increases in psychological IPV perpetration in the subsequent year. In turn, psychological IPV perpetration at Years 1 and 4 predicted increases in PTSD symptoms in the subsequent years. In addition, psychological IPV perpetration mediated the association between PTSD symptoms and physical IPV perpetration over time. Results were consistent across gender and race/ethnicity. Findings provide initial evidence that PTSD symptoms are associated with IPV perpetration across time from adolescence to young adulthood. Prevention and intervention programs for adolescent and young adult IPV perpetration may benefit from screening for, and potentially treating, PTSD symptoms. more...

As a result of the proliferation of data examining intimate partner violence (IPV), there has been an emerging interest in how this research emotionally affects participants, particularly those with a history of personal experience with IPV. While a large body of IPV research suggests that only a small proportion of individuals experience transient emotional distress as the result of participation, this research is limited by examining only the emotional responses at the conclusion of the research, rather than examining changes in affect during the research. Therefore, this research sought to examine negative affect among participants throughout the research to better examine the trajectory of affect during participation in research on IPV. We recruited a sample of 914 college students who completed a measure of negative affect at the beginning, after being exposed to violence questionnaires, and at the conclusion of the research. The findings suggested that among the total sample, negative affect generally declined over the course of the research, although there was a significant interaction for victims of both psychological and physical IPV, such that their negative affect remained stable over participation in the research. Negative affect was significantly correlated with measures of reactions to the research globally, and not significantly related to perceptions of the overall benefits of the research. These data suggest that participation in research on IPV does not increase negative affect, even among those with a history of IPV. Implications of these data for future research on IPV are discussed. more...

Meta-analyses suggest a small association between cardiovascular responses to acute stressors and cardiovascular disease, but a recent review suggests that this effect may be underestimated due to insufficient consideration of individual differences in habituation to repeated stressors., Objective: The present article reports new analyses of a published randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and a passive control condition on blood pressure habituation-a secondary outcome. Psychological mediators of intervention effects were examined., Method: Participants (138 healthy adults reporting moderate/high stress) were randomly assigned to 6-week MBSR, CBT, or a waitlist control. Analyses were conducted on 86 participants who subsequently completed stressful speech and mental arithmetic tasks during two posttreatment visits scheduled 48 hr apart. Blood pressure was measured -15, +0, +5, +10, +25, +35, and +60 min poststressor onset., Results: There were no between-condition differences in blood pressure habituation (all ps > .05). However, both MBSR and CBT led to increased perceived control over thoughts, F(2, 72) = 5.20, p = .008, and individuals who displayed a greater change in perceived control over thoughts also displayed greater habituation to the speech portion of the stressor, F(6, 799) = 2.32, p = .020. Results implied an indirect effect of stress reduction interventions on blood pressure habituation via change in perceived control over thoughts (b = -3.93, SE = 1.98, 95% CI: [-8.392, -0.701])., Conclusion: Stress reduction interventions that increase perceived control over thoughts may benefit cardiovascular health by promoting blood pressure habituation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved). more...

Background: Childhood adversity is a robust predictor of poor health outcomes in adulthood and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis dysfunction may be a key mechanism explaining this association. However, little is known about the influence childhood adversity may exhibit on adult HPA axis habituation (i.e., decreased cortisol output in response to a repeated stressor), where HPA axis dysfunction can be inferred if habituation deviates from normal patterns., Methods: The current study used data from a larger study that examined the effects of stress management interventions on cortisol habituation to repeated stress. Eighty-three adults reported childhood adversity with the Adverse Childhood Experience scale and completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) twice (48 h apart) scheduled after a 6-wk intervention period. Salivary cortisol was assessed pre-stressor and +25, +35, and +60 mins post-stressor onset during both visits., Results: Results indicated that childhood adversity was associated with a marginally larger decrease in total cortisol from visit 1 to visit 2 among men (i.e., habituation), but not women (i.e. non-habituation)., Conclusions: These findings suggest that childhood adversity may alter HPA axis habituation to repeated stress later in life, with possible sex differences. Future research should investigate whether HPA axis habituation to repeated stress may be a pathway through which childhood adversity affects adult health, and how it may affect men and women differently., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.) more...

Introduction: Despite the prevalence and negative consequences of dating violence among sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents, few prevention programs address dating violence for these groups. We describe the adaptation of the evidence-based Safe Dates dating violence prevention program to be inclusive of SGM adolescents and the outcome of a pilot trial of the expanded curriculum implemented in mixed settings serving both SGM and cisgender, heterosexual youth., Methods: Following a published framework of curriculum adaptation, we gathered information on SGM adolescents' needs and adapted Safe Dates materials to address SGM-specific risk factors for, and manifestations of, dating violence. We piloted the adapted program in 11 US schools and organizations serving SGM and cisgender, heterosexual youth (N = 156). The average age of participants was 15.11 years (SD = 2.76) at baseline. Participants were diverse with respect to race/ethnicity (26% Black/African American, 24% Hispanic/Latino, 21% White, 7% American Indian/Native Alaskan, 5% Asian/Pacific Islander), gender (56% female), and SGM status (35% SGM). Multi-level models measured change in scores on a written measure of dating violence knowledge from pre-test to post-test., Results: Dating violence knowledge increased significantly. Improvements did not differ by gender (female-identified versus not female-identified) or SGM status., Conclusions: Results support initial feasibility and efficacy of dating violence prevention programs that include both SGM and cisgender, heterosexual adolescents. The program normalizes diverse SGM identities and encourages participation of youth who are questioning or choosing not to disclose their gender or sexual identities. Larger-scale research should examine effects on dating violence experiences., (Copyright © 2020 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.) more...

Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) evidenced high levels of aggression both before and after the onset of opioid misuse. Continued aggression after abstinence suggested that abstinence alone may be inadequate. The present study investigated dispositional mindfulness in relation to aggressive attitudes, and verbal and physical aggression, by reviewing medical records of 163 adults in residential treatment for OUD. Results of hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for age and alcohol/drug use and problems, revealed a negative relationship between dispositional mindfulness and both aggressive attitudes and verbal aggression. Although dispositional mindfulness negatively related to physical aggression at the bivariate level, only alcohol use and problems related to physical aggression in regression analyses. Mindfulness-based treatments may be a useful avenue for targeting aggression within this population., (© Copyright 2020 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.) more...

Disordered eating behaviors (e.g., binge eating, food restriction, self-induced vomiting, and laxative use) as well as alcohol use and related issues are prevalent in undergraduate students and are often comorbid with one another. Recently, the unique combination of these behaviors, termed food and alcohol disturbance (FAD), has received empirical attention. FAD involves compensatory behaviors performed in preparation for, or in response to, alcohol use in order to counteract calories consumed from alcohol and/or to increase intoxication. Research on FAD is sparse; in particular, there is a lack of consensus regarding potential gender differences in FAD and a lack of knowledge concerning psychological correlates of these behaviors. Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic correlate of psychopathology, including disordered eating and alcohol use, and therefore may relate to FAD. The present study used a cross-sectional design to examine associations between emotion dysregulation and FAD, as well as gender differences in this relationship, in a sample of male and female undergraduate students (N = 417; 51.8% female). There were no gender differences in FAD, and the associations between emotion dysregulation and FAD did not vary among men and women. FAD was positively associated with emotion dysregulation at the bivariate level, but emotion dysregulation was not uniquely associated with FAD after accounting for disordered eating, alcohol use and problems, and body mass index. Future research should extend the current findings by examining temporal associations between emotions, emotion dysregulation, and FAD., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.) more...

Alcohol misuse is often a chronic problem such that relapses following treatment are common. One potential protective factor for alcohol misuse is self-compassion, which includes self-kindness, feelings of common humanity, and mindfulness when faced with personal suffering and hardships. This study tested the hypothesis that self-compassion, and specifically self-compassion promoting facets including self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness, were longitudinally associated with reduced alcohol use among a sample of men and women in substance use disorder treatment ( N  = 62). Results partially supported the hypothesis, in that only the mindfulness facet of self-compassion was associated with decreased alcohol use over time. Sex and age differences as they related to the positive facets of self-compassion and alcohol use emerged. These findings suggest that positive facets of self-compassion may be beneficial factors to cultivate in alcohol treatment programs., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interest:The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Gregory Stuart conducts psychoeducational treatment groups for patients at Cornerstone of Recovery for a maximum of 4 hours per week. None of this research project pertains to any of the psychoeducational groups. Dr. Stuart does not ever do any study recruitment, is not informed which patients do or do not participate in research and does not mention anything about research to the patients attending groups., (© The Author(s) 2020.) more...

Sexual minority individuals are at higher risk for suicide ideation compared with heterosexual individuals. We tested whether the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide explains increased suicide ideation among sexual minority college students living in the southeastern region of the United States. The cross-sectional study assessed correlates of suicide ideation in a convenience sample ( n  = 82) of sexual minority college students. Perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness correlated with suicide ideation. However, only perceived burdensomeness correlated with suicide ideation while controlling for depressive symptoms. Pending replication, perceived burdensomeness may be a target for suicide prevention and intervention among sexual minority college students. more...

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether dating violence victimization (psychological, physical, and sexual) and substance use (alcohol and marijuana) predicted sexual behaviors that increase risk for poor outcomes from ages 15-19. Adolescents (N = 1042; 56% female) were recruited from high schools in Southeast Texas in 2010 and followed annually for six years. The mean age of the sample at baseline was 15.09 (SD = 0.79). Participants primarily identified as Hispanic (31.4%), White (29.4%), and Black/African American (27.9%). Participants completed measures of dating violence victimization, substance use, and sexual behaviors annually. We examined unique and interactive associations between substance use and dating violence victimization with sexual behaviors that increase risk for poor outcomes. Multilevel modeling demonstrated that, when examining predictors simultaneously, marijuana use and psychological victimization predicted sexual behaviors over time for males. For females, marijuana use, and physical and psychological victimization all predicted sexual behaviors over time, with marijuana exerting the strongest effect, particularly among females who also used alcohol. Prevention efforts for adolescent sexual behaviors that increase risk for poor outcomes should include a focus on reducing substance use, particularly marijuana, and the effects of dating violence victimization., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) more...

Technological advances provide greater opportunity for electronic communication to occur within romantic relationships. Sexting, defined as sending sexually explicit content via electronic mediums, is one such type of communication and its association with alcohol use and partner violence is supported by existing research. We extend this knowledge by examining the prevalence of past-year sexting within a clinical sample of men arrested for domestic violence (N = 312). The associations between sexting, alcohol use, and sexual violence perpetration in the past year were also examined. Findings indicated that sexting was a prevalent behavior among this population, with 60% of the sample having requested a sext from someone, 55% having been asked to send a sext, and 41% having sent a sext within the past year. Logistic regression analyses indicated that sexting was linked to past-year sexual violence perpetration, even after controlling for age and past-year alcohol use. This is the first study to provide evidence that sexting is prevalent among men arrested for domestic violence. Moreover, men who endorsed sexting within the past year were more likely to have perpetrated past-year sexual violence than men who did not engage in sexting. Understanding the relation between sexting and other problematic behaviors, such as alcohol use and sexual violence, will inform intervention efforts across various populations. more...

Objective: Maltreatment exposure is a robust predictor of adolescent depression. Yet despite this well-documented association, few studies have simultaneously examined how maltreatment subtypes relate to qualitatively distinct depressive symptoms. The present multiwave longitudinal study addressed this gap in the literature by examining how different maltreatment subtypes independently impact depressed mood and anhedonia over time in a diverse adolescent sample., Method: Adolescents ( N = 673, M age = 14.83, SD age = 0.66, 57.1% female, 32.8% Hispanic, 30.4% Caucasian, 25.0% African American) completed self-report inventories for child-maltreatment and annual self-report measures of depressed mood and anhedonia over the course of 6 years. We used latent-growth-curve modeling to test how maltreatment exposure predicted anhedonia and depressed mood, and whether these relations differed as a function of sex and/or race/ethnicity., Results: Overall, both emotional abuse ( p < .001) and neglect ( p = .002) predicted levels of depressed mood over time, whereas only emotional neglect predicted levels ( p < .001) and trajectories ( p = .001) of anhedonia. Physical and sexual abuse did not predict depressive symptoms after accounting for emotional abuse and neglect ( ns ). These findings were largely invariant across sex and race., Conclusion: Findings suggest that the consequences of emotional neglect may be especially problematic in adolescence because of its impact on both depressed mood and anhedonia, and that emotional abuse's association with depression is best explained via symptoms of depressed mood. These findings are congruent with recent findings that more "silent types" of maltreatment uniquely predict depression, and that abuse and neglect experiences confer distinct profiles of risk for psychological distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved). more...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether adverse mental health (i.e., symptoms of anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression) mediated the relation between childhood physical abuse (CPA) and physical dating violence (DV) victimization/perpetration in young adulthood., Method: We used four waves of data from an ongoing longitudinal study. The sample consisted of 864 adolescents including 282 Hispanic Americans, 248 European Americans, 240 African Americans, and 94 other, with a mean age of 17 years at Wave 3., Results: Structural equation modeling suggested that posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms mediated the link between CPA and both physical DV victimization (β = .06, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.11) and perpetration (β = .07, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.13). Anxiety and depressive symptoms, however, did not show significant indirect effects., Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of interventions targeting posttraumatic stress symptoms for adolescents who experienced CPA in preventing physical DV in young adulthood., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.) more...

Objectives: Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) is overrepresented among adults with substance use disorders (SUD), yet there is no empirically supported CSB treatment for this population. Cross-sectional and single case designs supported dispositional mindfulness as a potential CSB intervention target. However, the relations between CSB and each of the five dispositional mindfulness facets remain unknown., Methods: Extending prior research to inform intervention efforts, we reviewed medical records for 1993 adults (77.6% male) in residential treatment for SUD to examine gender differences in the relations between dispositional mindfulness facets ( acting with awareness , observation of experience , describing with words , non-judging of inner experience , and non-reactivity to inner experience ) and five CSB indicators ( loss of control, relationship disturbance, preoccupation, affect disturbance, and internet problems) ., Results: For men, path analyses revealed that acting with awareness , nonjudging of inner experience , describing with words , non-reactivity to inner experience, alcohol/drug use and problems, and depression and anxiety symptoms related to CSB ( p range: .00-.04). For women, acting with awareness , non-judging of inner experience , alcohol/drug use and problems, and depression symptoms related to several CSB indicators ( p range: .00-.04)., Conclusions: Mindfulness-based CSB interventions should evaluate the benefit of increasing intentional responses towards present-moment experiences among adults with SUD. Targeting alcohol/drug misuse, negative affect, and judgement towards thoughts and emotions may be beneficial., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: Dr. Gregory Stuart conducts psychoeducational treatment groups for patients at Cornerstone of Recovery for a maximum of 4 hours per week. None of this research project pertains to any of the psychoeducational groups. Dr. Stuart does not ever do any study recruitment, is not informed which patients do or do not participate in research, and does not mention anything about research to the patients attending groups. Dr. Ryan Shorey receives research consulting compensation from Cornerstone of Recovery. There is no restriction on what Dr. Shorey can publish and his research consultation does not influence the study results in any way. Dr. Shorey does not interact with Cornerstone patients. Dr. Scott Anderson is employed as the Chief Clinical Officer/Clinical Director at Cornerstone of Recovery. His positions do not influence the study results in any way. Meagan Brem declares no conflict of interest. Conflict of Interest: Gregory Stuart conducts psychoeducational treatment groups for patients at Cornerstone of Recovery for a maximum of 4 hours per week. None of this research project pertains to any of the psychoeducational groups. Dr. Stuart does not ever do any study recruitment, is not informed which patients do or do not participate in research and does not mention anything about research to the patients attending groups. Ryan Shorey works as a research consultant at Cornerstone. There is no restriction on what Ryan can publish and his research consultation does not influence the study results in any way. Ryan does not interact with Cornerstone patients. Ryan has reported all his consultation activities to the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and no concern about financial conflict of interest has been raised. more...

Scant research examined mechanisms underlying the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and dating violence (DV) perpetration. Using a cross-sectional design with 203 college women, we examined whether distress tolerance mediated the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and DV perpetration (i.e., psychological aggression and physical assault). Path analyses results revealed indirect effects of mindfulness facets nonjudging of inner experiences and nonreactivity to inner experiences on both psychological aggression and physical assault through distress tolerance. Mindfulness facets observing , describing , and acting with awareness were not linked to DV perpetration through distress tolerance. Results suggest that women who allow internal experiences to come and go without assigning criticism or avoidance are better able to tolerate transient distress and less likely to abuse a dating partner. Future research may examine distress tolerance and dispositional mindfulness facets as potential intervention targets for women who abuse dating partners. more...