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Dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to limbic regions play a key role in the initiation and maintenance of substance use; however, the relationship between mesolimbic resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and alcohol use during development remains unclear. We examined the associations between alcohol use and VTA RSFC to subcortical structures in 796 participants (12-21 years old at baseline, 51 % female) across 9 waves of longitudinal data from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence. Linear mixed effects models included interactions between age, sex, and alcohol use, and best fitting models were selected using log-likelihood ratio tests. Results demonstrated a positive association between alcohol use and VTA RSFC to the nucleus accumbens. Age was associated with VTA RSFC to the amygdala and hippocampus, and an age-by-alcohol use interaction on VTA-globus pallidus connectivity was driven by a positive association between alcohol and VTA-globus pallidus RSFC in adolescence, but not adulthood. On average, male participants exhibited greater VTA RSFC to the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, caudate, hippocampus, globus pallidus, and thalamus. Differences in VTA RSFC related to age, sex, and alcohol, may inform our understanding of neurobiological risk and resilience for alcohol use and other psychiatric disorders.

PurposeTraumatic brain injury (TBI) and potentially traumatic events (PTEs) contribute to increased substance use, mental health issues, and cognitive impairments. However, there's not enough research on how TBI and PTEs combined impact mental heath, substance use, and neurocognition.MethodsThis study leverages a subset of The National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) multi-site dataset with 551 adolescents to assess the combined and distinctive impacts of TBI, PTEs, and TBI+PTEs (prior to age 18) on substance use, mental health, and neurocognitive outcomes at age 18.ResultsTBI, PTEs, and TBI+PTEs predicted greater lifetime substance use and past-year alcohol and cannabis use. PTEs predicted greater internalizing symptoms, while TBI+PTEs predicted greater externalizing symptoms. Varying effects on neurocognitive outcomes included PTEs influencing attention accuracy and TBI+PTEs predicting faster speed in emotion tasks. PTEs predicted greater accuracy in abstraction-related tasks. Associations with working memory were not detected.ConclusionThis exploratory study contributes to the growing literature on the complex interplay between TBI, PTEs, and adolescent mental health, substance use, and neurocognition. The developmental implications of trauma via TBIs and/or PTEs during adolescence are considerable and worthy of further investigation.

Early adolescent drinking onset is linked to myriad negative consequences. Using the National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) baseline to year 8 data, this study (1) leveraged best subsets selection and Cox Proportional Hazards regressions to identify the most robust predictors of adolescent first and regular drinking onset, and (2) examined the clinical utility of drinking onset in forecasting later binge drinking and withdrawal effects. Baseline predictors included youth psychodevelopmental characteristics, cognition, brain structure, family, peer, and neighborhood domains. Participants (N=538) were alcohol-naïve at baseline. The strongest predictors of first and regular drinking onset were positive alcohol expectancies (Hazard Ratios [HRs]=1.67-1.87), easy home alcohol access (HRs=1.62-1.67), more parental solicitation (e.g., inquiring about activities; HRs=1.72-1.76), and less parental control and knowledge (HRs=.72-.73). Robust linear regressions showed earlier first and regular drinking onset predicted earlier transition into binge and regular binge drinking (βs=0.57-0.95). Zero-inflated Poisson regressions revealed that delayed first and regular drinking increased the likelihood (Incidence Rate Ratios [IRR]=1.62 and IRR=1.29, respectively) of never experiencing withdrawal. Findings identified behavioral and environmental factors predicting temporal paths to youthful drinking, dissociated first from regular drinking initiation, and revealed adverse sequelae of younger drinking initiation, supporting efforts to delay drinking onset.

Although stress is often related to substance use, it remains unclear whether substance use is related to individual differences in how adolescents respond to stress. Therefore the present study examined associations between substance use and daily emotional reactivity to stress within a year across adolescence. Adolescents (N = 330; Mage = 16.40, SD = 0.74 at study entry; n = 186 female; n = 138 Latine; n = 101 European American; n = 72 Asian American; n = 19 identifying as another ethnicity including African American and Middle Eastern) completed a longitudinal study, including three assessments between the 10th grade and 3-years post-high school. At each assessment, participants reported frequency of alcohol and cannabis use and the number of substances they had ever used. They also completed 15 daily checklists, in which they reported the number of daily arguments and their daily emotion. Multilevel models suggested that more frequent alcohol and cannabis use were related to attenuated positive emotional reactivity to daily stress (i.e., smaller declines in positive emotion on days when they experienced more arguments) for both male and female adolescents. Associations for negative emotional reactivity to stress varied by sex; more frequent alcohol use and use of more substances in one's lifetime were related to greater anxious emotional reactivity to stress among female adolescents, whereas more frequent alcohol and cannabis use and higher lifetime substance use were related to attenuated depressive emotional reactivity to stress among male adolescents. Taken together, substance use was related to emotional reactivity to daily stress within the same year during adolescence, although associations differed by valence and adolescent sex.

Heavy alcohol drinking is a major, preventable problem that adversely impacts the physical and mental health of US young adults. Studies seeking drinking risk factors typically focus on young adults who enrolled in 4-year residential college programs (4YCP) even though most high school graduates join the workforce, military, or community colleges. We examined 106 of these understudied young adults (USYA) and 453 4YCPs from the National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) by longitudinally following their drinking patterns for 8 years from adolescence to young adulthood. All participants were no-to-low drinkers during high school. Whereas 4YCP individuals were more likely to initiate heavy drinking during college years, USYA participants did so later. Using mental health metrics recorded during high school, machine learning forecasted individual-level risk for initiating heavy drinking after leaving high school. The risk factors differed between demographically matched USYA and 4YCP individuals and between sexes. Predictors for USYA drinkers were sexual abuse, physical abuse for girls, and extraversion for boys, whereas 4YCP drinkers were predicted by the ability to recognize facial emotion and, for boys, greater openness. Thus, alcohol prevention programs need to give special consideration to those joining the workforce, military, or community colleges, who make up the majority of this age group.

BackgroundSocial media can influence alcohol initiation behaviors such as sipping, which can lead to future adverse alcohol-related outcomes. Few studies have examined the role of problematic social media use, characterized by addiction, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse, especially in early adolescence.ObjectiveTo examine the prospective association between social media use and sipping alcohol in a nationwide sample of early adolescents, and the extent to which problematic social media use mediates the association.MethodsWe analyzed prospective data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (N = 7514; ages 9-10 years at baseline; 2016-2018) to estimate associations between social media time (Year 1) and alcohol sipping (Year 3) using modified Poisson regression, adjusting for confounders and testing problematic social media use (Year 2) as a mediator.ResultsSocial media time (Year 1) was prospectively associated with 1.31 (95% confidence interval 1.20-1.43) times higher risk of new-onset sipping (Year 3). The association between social media time and new-onset alcohol sipping was partially mediated by problematic social media use at Year 2 (25.0% reduction in the association between the former two factors after adding problematic social media use, p = 0.002).ConclusionsTime spent on social media was associated with a higher risk of alcohol sipping in a diverse national sample of early adolescents, and the association was partially mediated by problematic social media use. Media literacy education and family media use plans could advise early adolescents about exposure to alcohol content on social media and warning signs for problematic use.

Background and aimsRecently, we demonstrated that a distinct pattern of structural covariance networks (SCN) from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived measurements of brain cortical thickness characterized young adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and predicted current and future problematic drinking in adolescents relative to controls. Here, we establish the robustness and value of SCN for identifying heavy alcohol users in three additional independent studies.Design and settingCross-sectional and longitudinal studies using data from the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition and Genetics (PING) study (n = 400, age range = 14-22 years), the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) (n = 272, age range = 17-22 years) and the Human Connectome Project (HCP) (n = 375, age range = 22-37 years).CasesCases were defined based on heavy alcohol use patterns or former alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnoses: 50, 68 and 61 cases were identified. Controls had none or low alcohol use or absence of AUD: 350, 204 and 314 controls were selected.MeasurementsGraph theory metrics of segregation and integration were used to summarize SCN.FindingsMirroring our prior findings, and across the three data sets, cases had a lower clustering coefficient [area under the curve (AUC) = -0.029, P = 0.002], lower modularity (AUC = -0.14, P = 0.004), lower average shortest path length (AUC = -0.078, P = 0.017) and higher global efficiency (AUC = 0.007, P = 0.010). Local efficiency differences were marginal (AUC = -0.017, P = 0.052). That is, cases exhibited lower network segregation and higher integration, suggesting that adjacent nodes (i.e. brain regions) were less similar in thickness whereas spatially distant nodes were more similar.ConclusionStructural covariance network (SCN) differences in the brain appear to constitute an early marker of heavy alcohol use in three new data sets and, more generally, demonstrate the utility of SCN-derived metrics to detect brain-related psychopathology.

Objectives: Psychoactive substance (PS) use is a public health problem that affects society in general and particularly adolescents. Therefore, knowing adolescents' levels and patterns of PSs use is essential for developing public health policies. Methods: During 2016, 2018, and 2019, a total of 1121 students (from Rosario-Argentina) were surveyed to evaluate their levels and patterns of use of alcohol, energy drinks, tobacco, and marijuana, among others. Results: The results showed a decrease in the age of onset as well as in the risk perception of PS use, especially in 2018 and 2019. The reported reason for first use over the 3 years was "curiosity," followed by "feeling good." Moreover, the most consumed PSs (in order of preference) were alcohol, followed by energy drinks, tobacco, and marijuana. It was also found that more women reported consuming alcohol compared to men. Conclusions: Interestingly, in terms of age at first use, it was found that adolescents tried energy drinks first, followed by alcohol, tobacco, and then marijuana. The decrease in the age of onset and the risk perception of the use of a PS and the pattern of use reported by adolescent students suggests the need to implement age-specific public prevention policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionsDespite numerous educational initiatives, effectively communicating alcohol-related risks remains a significant public health challenge. This study investigates the sources and preferences for alcohol risk information in Poland, analyzing how these are influenced by sociodemographic factors and alcohol consumption levels.Data were collected from a nationally representative sample of 2000 Polish residents aged 18–64 through face-to-face interviews. Associations with sociodemographic factors and alcohol consumption were examined using chi-square tests and regression models.Internet and traditional media were the most commonly used information sources, though scientific sources, while less accessed, were rated most reliable. Respondents prioritized information about health effects over conventional awareness topics like underage drinking or drink driving. While female and younger participants showed greater interest in health impacts, those from lower economic backgrounds were more concerned with workplace and driving risks. No significant correlation was found between alcohol consumption levels and information preferences.Alcohol risk communication strategies should expand beyond responsible drinking to address broader health impacts. Messages should utilize commonly accessed information sources while considering varied information needs across different sociodemographic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is defined as patterns of alcohol misuse and affects over 30 million people in the US. AUD is a systemic disease with the epidemiology of acute lung injury and excessive alcohol use established in the literature. However, the distinct mechanisms by which alcohol induces the risk of pulmonary inflammation are less clear. A compelling body of evidence shows that cannabinoid receptors (CB1R and CB2R) play a relevant role in AUD. For this study, we investigated the role of CBR signaling in pulmonary immune activation. Using a human macrophage cell line, we evaluated the expression of CBR1 and CBR2 after cells were exposed to EtOH, +/- cannabinoid agonists and antagonists by flow cytometry. We also evaluated the expression of cannabinoid receptors from the lungs of adolescent mice exposed to acute binge EtOH +/- cannabinoid agonists and antagonists at both resting state and after microbial challenge via western blot, rt-PCR, cytokine analysis, and histology. Our results suggest that EtOH exposure modulates the expression of CBR1 and CBR2. Second, EtOH may contribute to the release of DAMPs and other proinflammatory cytokines, Finally, microbial challenge induces pulmonary inflammation in acute binge EtOH-exposed mice, and this observed immune activation may be CBR-dependent. We have shown that adolescent binge drinking primes the lung to subsequent microbial infection in adulthood and this response can be mitigated with cannabinoid antagonists. These novel findings may provide a framework for developing potential novel therapeutics in AUD research. [Display omitted] • Acute binge alcohol modulates the levels of cannabinoid receptor expression in the lung. • Microbial challenge induces pulmonary inflammation in mice previously exposed to binge alcohol. • Excessive alcohol paired with microbial challenge contributes to the release of proinflammatory cytokines in the lung. • Cannabinoid receptor antagonists block alcohol-induced pulmonary inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A preclinical model of human adolescent binge drinking, adolescent intermittent ethanol exposure (AIE) recreates the heavy binge withdrawal consummatory patterns of adolescents and has identified the loss of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons as a pathological hallmark of this model. Cholinergic neurons of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NbM) that innervate the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are particularly vulnerable to alcohol related neurodegeneration. Target derived neurotrophins (nerve growth factor [NGF] and brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF]) regulate cholinergic phenotype expression and survival. Evidence from other disease models implicates the role of immature neurotrophin, or proneurotrophins, activity at neurotrophic receptors in promoting cholinergic degeneration; however, it has yet to be explored in adolescent binge drinking. We sought to characterize the pro- and mature neurotrophin expression, alongside their cognate receptors and cholinergic markers in an AIE model. Male and female Sprague Dawley rats underwent 5 g/kg 20% EtOH or water gavage on two-day-on, two-day-off cycles from post-natal day 25–57. Rats were sacrificed 2 h, 24 h, or 3 weeks following the last gavage, and tissue were collected for protein measurement. Western blot analyses revealed that ethanol intoxication reduced the expression of BDNF and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (vAChT) in the PFC, while NGF was lower in the NbM of AIE treated animals. During acute alcohol withdrawal, proNGF in the PFC was increased while proBDNF decreased, and in the NbM proBDNF increased while NGF decreased. During AIE abstinence, the expression of neurotrophins, their receptors, and vAChT did not differ from controls in the PFC. In contrast, in the NbM the expression of both NGF and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) were reduced long-term following AIE. Taken together these findings suggest that AIE alters the expression of proneurotrophins and neurotrophins during intoxication and withdrawal that favor prodegenerative mechanisms by increasing the expression of proNGF and proBDNF, while also reducing NGF and BDNF. • Adolescent ethanol exposure causes neurotrophin dysregulation. • There is disruption in the ratio of proNGF to mature NGF. • Cholinergic markers are also impacted by adolescent intermittent ethanol exposure. • Changes in pro- and mature NGF contributes to alcohol-related brain damage in an adolescent model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the relationship between alcohol outlet density and the proportion of alcohol consumption among Thai adolescents. We utilized the alcohol consumption data from the 2007, 2011, and 2017 Tobacco and Alcohol Consumption Survey in Thailand. We analyzed the relationships between alcohol sales license figures and consumption behavior using a spatiotemporal mixed model. Our data had two levels. The upper (provincial) level featured alcohol sales license density (spatial effect), the years of survey (temporal effect), and the social deprivation index. The lower (individual) level included the demographic data of the adolescents. A total of 9,566 Thai adolescents participated in this study, based on surveys conducted in 2007 (n = 4,731), 2011 (n = 3,466), and 2017 (n = 1,369). The density of alcohol sales licenses increased the odds for the one-year current drinker category (odds ratio [OR] = 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04–1.45), especially in male adolescents (OR = 1.09, 95% CI, 1.04–1.14). Furthermore, it increased the odds for the heavy episodic drinker category for female adolescents (OR = 1.23, 95% CI, 1.05–1.44). Increased alcohol sales licenses are associated with higher alcohol consumption among Thai adolescents. This highlights the need for government organizations to develop and apply strategies to reduce the number of licenses for the sale of alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Methods Results Discussion and Conclusions Parental provision of alcohol to children is associated with a range of negative outcomes. Public health campaigns discouraging this practice are required as part of a comprehensive approach to reduce alcohol‐related harm among minors, however, limited research has examined the relative effectiveness of different messaging approaches. This study compared the effects of two campaigns with different executional styles on parents' intentions to provide alcohol to minors—one campaign used a fear‐based approach and the other adopted a first‐person narrative approach.The study used a repeated cross‐sectional design. An independent samples t‐test was used to compare the effects of two campaigns with alternative executional styles on parents' alcohol provision intentions. Two ordinal logistic generalised linear models were used to assess whether intentions effects differed according to parents' demographic and behavioural characteristics.Both campaigns were effective at motivating parents to abstain from providing alcohol to minors. This outcome was particularly notable among female respondents and those who had never provided alcohol to their children. Older respondents and those who used less alcohol were more likely to intend to change their behaviours as a result of exposure to the fear‐based campaign, while the campaign using a narrative approach was more effective with heavier drinkers.Overall strong performance of both campaigns combined with varying effectiveness by parent attributes highlights the utility of parent‐focused campaigns targeting alcohol provision to minors. To best protect minors, continued investments are needed to develop suites of evidence‐based campaigns that resonate with different parent subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Various patterns of alcohol consumption are associated with trauma and violence. The aim of this study was to assess the association between traumatic dental injuries (TDI) due to violence and different patterns of alcohol consumption in Korean adults. Materials and Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted with representative sample of Korean adults. Among the total participants, 11.8% (6489/58,999) experienced TDI, and 0.9% (520/58,999) experienced TDI due to violence. The associations between various types of alcohol consumption (frequency of drinking, frequency of binge drinking, age of first drinking) and TDI due to violence were assessed using logistic regression analyses. We confirmed differences in the prevalence experience of TDI due to violence with various types of alcohol consumption by confounders (socioeconomic status). Results: All types of drinking (frequency of drinking, frequency of binge drinking, age of first drinking) were strongly associated with TDI due to violence. After adjusting for confounders, those who started drinking at the age of 18 or younger and drank 4 or more days a week (OR: 2.86, 95% CI: 1.68–4.88), those who started drinking at the age of 18 or younger and drank 3 days or less a week (OR: 2.37, 95% CI: 1.40–4.02), and those who started drinking at the age of 18 or younger and binge drinking at least once a week (OR: 3.18, 95% CI: 1.79–5.65) had higher prevalence of TDI due to violence compared to those with no alcohol drinking. Conclusions: This study presents evidence of an association between various types of alcohol consumption and TDI due to violence in Korean adults. These findings suggest the necessity for policies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption, frequency of drinking, and access to drinking especially in adolescent to reduce the prevalence experience of TDI due to violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used Poisson's linear regression to examine the association between racial bullying (RB) and the initiation of alcohol and tobacco uses after 9 months. Two cluster-randomized controlled trials were conducted in 2019 with children in grades five (girls: 50.0%; 10 years old: 82.0%; White: 36.8%; Black: 58.7%; others: 4.5%) and seven (girls: 49.5%; 12 years old: 78.1%; White: 33.2%; Black: 60.4%; others: 6.4%) from 30 public schools in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. We restricted our analyses to 2 subsets of students in each grade: those who reported no lifetime alcohol use at baseline and those who reported no lifetime baseline tobacco use. At baseline, 16.2% of fifth and 10.7% of seventh graders reported suffering from RB in the 30 days before data collection. After 9 months, 14.9% of fifth graders started using alcohol and 2.5%, tobacco. Among seventh graders, the figures were 31.2% and 7.7%, respectively. RB predicted the initiation of use of alcohol (risk ratio [RR] = 1.36; 95% CI, 1.07-1.70) and tobacco (RR = 1.81; 95% CI, 1.14-2.76) among seventh graders, with race-gender differences, particularly in Black girls (alcohol: RR = 1.45; 95% CI, 1.07-1.93; tobacco: RR = 2.34; 95% CI, 1.31-3.99). School-based programs and policies must explicitly address issues related to racism and gender in alcohol and tobacco prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We explored factors predicting repeated or hazardous alcohol use among autistic and non-autistic U.S. youth ages 16 to 20 years. Methods: Autistic (n = 94) and non-autistic (n = 92) youth completed an online survey. By design, half of each group reported past-year alcohol use. We compared drinking patterns for autistic and non-autistic youth, and within each group between abstinent or infrequent drinkers (0–1 drinking episodes in past year) versus those who drank 2 + times in past year. Results: Autistic (vs. non-autistic) youth who drank did so less frequently and consumed fewer drinks per occasion. However, 15% of autistic youth who drank in the past year reported heavy episodic drinking and 9.3% screened positive for AUDIT-C hazardous drinking. For autistic youth only, a diagnosis of depression, bullying or exclusion histories were positively associated with drinking 2 + times in the past year. Autistic youth who put more effort into masking autistic traits were less likely to report drinking 2 + times in the past year. As compared to non-autistic youth, autistic participants were less likely to drink for social reasons, to conform, or to enhance experiences, but drank to cope at similar rates. Conclusion: Repeated and hazardous underage alcohol occur among autistic youth. Targeted prevention programs designed to address the specific drinking profiles of autistic youth are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. We examined the interactive effects between genome-wide polygenic risk scores for alcohol use (alc-PRS) and social support in relation to alcohol use among European American (EA) and African American (AA) adults across sex and developmental stages (emerging adulthood, young adulthood, and middle adulthood). Data were drawn from 4,011 EA and 1,274 AA adults from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism who were between ages 18-65 and had ever used alcohol. Participants completed the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism and provided saliva or blood samples for genotyping. Results indicated that social support from friends, but not family, moderated the association between alc-PRS and alcohol use among EAs and AAs (only in middle adulthood for AAs); alc-PRS was associated with higher levels of alcohol use when friend support was low, but not when friend support was high. Associations were similar across sex but differed across developmental stages. Findings support the important role of social support from friends in buffering genetic risk for alcohol use among EA and AA adults and highlight the need to consider developmental changes in the role of social support in relation to alcohol use.

Subcortical brain morphometry matures across adolescence and young adulthood, a time when many youth engage in escalating levels of alcohol use. Initial cross-sectional studies have shown alcohol use is associated with altered subcortical morphometry. However, longitudinal evidence of sex-specific neuromaturation and associations with alcohol use remains limited. This project used generalized additive mixed models to examine sex-specific development of subcortical volumes and associations with recent alcohol use, using 7 longitudinal waves (n = 804, 51% female, ages 12-21 at baseline) from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA). A second, independent, longitudinal dataset, with up to four waves of data (n = 467, 43% female, ages 10-18 at baseline), was used to assess replicability. Significant, replicable non-linear normative volumetric changes with age were evident in the caudate, putamen, thalamus, pallidum, amygdala and hippocampus. Significant, replicable negative associations between subcortical volume and alcohol use were found in the hippocampus in all youth, and the caudate and thalamus in female but not male youth, with significant interactions present in the caudate, thalamus and putamen. Findings suggest a structural vulnerability to alcohol use, or a predisposition to drink alcohol based on brain structure, with female youth potentially showing heightened risk, compared to male youth.

Background: The prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use among adolescents is alarming, and these substances are among the leading risk factors for current and future health among adolescents. Physical activity has the potential to help prevent substance use among adolescents. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between physical activity, modes of transportation to or from school, and sitting time with tobacco and alcohol use among 222,495 adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from national surveys conducted in 66 countries, obtained through the Global School-based Student Health Survey, and included adolescents aged 11 to 17 years. Information on physical activity, transportation to or from school, sitting time, and tobacco and alcohol use was collected through self-report questionnaires. Generalized linear models were employed to estimate the associations between these variables. Results: The analysis, adjusted for sex, age, and region, revealed that being physically active was associated with lower odds of smoking (OR: 0.86, 95%CI: 0.83–0.89), alcohol use (OR: 0.74, 95%CI: 0.72–0.76), binge drinking (OR: 0.66, 95%CI: 0.62–0.69), and drunkenness (OR: 0.85, 95%CI: 0.83–0.88) compared to inactivity. Insufficiently active participants also had lower odds of tobacco use (OR: 0.83, 95%CI: 0.80–0.85), alcohol use (OR: 0.77, 95%CI: 0.75–0.79), binge drinking (OR: 0.91, 95%CI: 0.87–0.96), and drunkenness (OR: 0.88, 95%CI: 0.85–0.90) compared to inactive participants. Additionally, active transportation to or from school was associated with lower odds of tobacco use (OR: 0.97, 95%CI: 0.95–0.99), alcohol use (OR: 0.94, 95%CI: 0.92–0.96), and binge drinking (OR: 0.78, 95%CI: 0.75–0.81) compared to those using passive transportation. Participants with acceptable sitting time, however, were more likely to use tobacco (OR: 1.48, 95%CI: 1.45–1.52), use alcohol (OR: 1.68, 95%CI: 1.64–1.72), binge drink (OR: 1.68, 95%CI: 1.62–1.75), and experience drunkenness (OR: 1.66, 95%CI: 1.62–1.69) compared to those with excessive sitting time. Conclusion: Being physically active, even at insufficient levels, may have beneficial effects on tobacco and alcohol use in adolescents. Acceptable sedentary time, on the other hand, was positively associated with tobacco and alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the persistent issue of hazing among college students, with high percentages reported among student athletes and fraternity/sorority members. It emphasizes the need for interventions to reduce the frequency and severity of hazing, drawing parallels with successful prevention efforts in underage drinking and cigarette smoking. The document also highlights the far-reaching negative impacts of hazing on academic, mental health, and institutional success, calling for deliberate and targeted initiatives to address the root causes of hazing. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: Alcohol consumption is associated with unintended pregnancies among teenagers. Its role as a broader determinant of teenage fertility rates remains unclear. We investigate whether adolescent binge drinking affects the number of teenage births. Methods: Binge drinking data from 137,898 females aged 15–16 were collected in the HBSC study (2002–2018, 43 countries/regions) and 267,359 in the ESPAD study (1995–2019, 41 countries/regions). Age‐specific fertility rates were from the Human Fertility Database and the World Health Organization. We examined changes over time in countries' average levels of binge drinking among female pupils aged 15–16 and population‐level fertility rates for the same cohorts when aged 16–19 years. Results: Controlling for differences between countries and survey waves, we found an association between binge drinking and fertility rate, B = 0.019, 95% confidence interval [0.004, 0.034]. When accounting for the countries' time trends, the association was substantially reduced, B = 0.006, 95% confidence interval [−0.0062, 0.0174]. The relationship was not moderated by abortion rates and controlling for contraceptive use had no impact on the findings. Discussion and Conclusions: The association between adolescent binge drinking and fertility rates diminishes when accounting for country‐specific time trends. Given the lack of clear mechanisms linking binge drinking to trends in fertility rates rather than shorter‐term changes, the association likely reflects broader secular trends. Binge drinking may be involved in teen pregnancy and childbirth in individual cases but it does not explain recent developments in teenage fertility rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While young people's alcohol consumption has fallen sharply in the United Kingdom and other high-income countries, universities remain places where heavy drinking is routine and normative. Drawing on interviews with undergraduate students, this article explores how heavy drinking is part of how students negotiate a sense of belonging and form personal relationships. Theoretical work on belonging and relationality is used to make sense of students' encounters with alcohol. Consistent with the decline in youth drinking, several interviewees had limited experience of heavy drinking prior to university, and some were not interested in taking it up. After describing how heavy drinking facilitates belonging in certain spaces of student life, we examine the strategies of non- and low-drinking students in navigating these spaces. Attending to their strategies suggests that becoming known as 'social persons' is key to negotiating belonging without drinking heavily. We conclude by considering how universities might better accommodate the desire for belonging for the increasingly large proportion of students with limited experience of or desire for alcohol by creating opportunities for students to form personal relationships in ways that do not involve alcohol or where alcohol is peripheral to the activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence is one of the periods of human development, this period is a period of change or transition from childhood to adulthood which includes biological, psychological and social changes. Deviant behavior and crimes committed by adolescents are also increasingly diverse, one of which is consuming alcohol. The research method used in this research is a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach that aims to determine the exploitation behavior of ladies companion. The informants in this study were 8 teenagers in Sidorejo Village, Saradan District, Madiun Regency. Conduct validity and reliability by triangulating sources and techniques. Source triangulation was conducted on teenagers, parents, and alcohol sellers. While the technique with Voice Recording and Documentation. The results of research conducted on 8 informants obtained a statement that all informants consume liquor. Some of the factors of teenagers consuming liquor are from the factors of Knowledge, Attitude, Access to places to buy and sell liquor, the Role of Parents, and the influence of peers. The conclusion of this study is that all informants feel that consuming alcohol is likely to be formed because of the culture of alcohol consumption in Sidorejo Village, Saradan District. Suggestions for adolescents by providing knowledge so that it is not easy to fall into Liquor Consuming Behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In adolescence, drinking in party settings represents socialisation and fun but also a red zone for sexual assaults. Expanding current knowledge of sexual assault as a systemic attack, this article investigates how adolescents understand and navigate sexualised risk in alcohol intoxication contexts. Using a narrative lens and interviews with 95 15- to 19-year-olds in Norway, we found that adolescents linked drinking to the risk of total loss of control and, specifically for girls, to experiencing sexual assaults. Based on peer- and media-circulated stories, sexualised risk in drunken settings was a pervasive master narrative that shaped girls' risk understandings and behaviours in ways that spoke to a gendered risk regime. To navigate drunken settings, girls described individual and social safety strategies that underscored the importance of being in control. Notably, lower-status girls, in contrast to higher-status girls, often lacked the social resources that enabled collective safety strategies. In general, girls' quest for control appeared double-edged—it limited sexual assault risk but also intruded on their freedom, formed basis for moral judgement and reproduced gendered double standards for adolescents' drinking and sexual practices. Because social status also intersected in girls' risk management, this gendered risk regime particularly amplifies vulnerability in lower-status girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ethanol-naïve males and females showed similar fever response to 4 mg/kg poly I:C. • This fever response was enhanced in adult males but not females with a history of AIE. • AIE sensitized central cytokine response to poly I:C in adult male NTS. • AIE did not affect adult female responsiveness to poly I:C. Fever plays an indispensable role in host defense processes and is used as a rapid index of infection severity. Unfortunately, there are also substantial individual differences in fever reactions with biological sex, immunological history, and other demographic variables contributing to adverse outcomes of infection. The present series of studies were designed to test the hypothesis that a history of adolescent alcohol misuse may be a latent experiential variable that determines fever severity using polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), a synthetic form of double-stranded RNA that mimics a viral challenge. Adult male and female Sprague Dawley rats were injected with 0 (saline) or 4 mg/kg poly I:C to first establish sex differences in fever sensitivity in Experiment 1 using implanted radiotelemetry devices for remote tracking. In Experiments 2 and 3, adolescent males and females were exposed to either water or ethanol (0 or 4 g/kg intragastrically, 3 days on, 2 days off, ∼P30-P50, 4 cycles/12 exposures total). After a period of abstinence, adult rats (∼P80-96) were then challenged with saline or poly I:C, and fever induction and maintenance were examined across a prolonged time course of 8 h using implanted probes. In Experiments 4 and 5, adult male and female subjects with a prior history of adolescent water or adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) were given saline or poly I:C, with tissue collected for protein and gene expression analysis at 5 h post-injection. Initial sex differences in fever sensitivity were minimal in response to the 4 mg/kg dose of poly I:C in ethanol-naïve rats. AIE exposed males injected with poly I:C showed a sensitized fever response as well as enhanced TLR3, IκBα, and IL-1β expression in the nucleus of the solitary tract. Other brain regions related to thermoregulation and peripheral organs such as spleen, liver, and blood showed generalized immune responses to poly I:C, with no differences evident between AIE and water-exposed males. In contrast, AIE did not affect responsiveness to poly I:C in females. Thus, the present findings suggest that adolescent binge drinking may produce sex-specific and long-lasting effects on fever reactivity to viral infection, with preliminary evidence suggesting that these effects may be due to centrally-mediated changes in fever regulation rather than peripheral immunological mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulating evidence suggests that particular parenting behaviors (e.g., elevated psychological control) may increase risk for both problematic social anxiety and alcohol use among youth; however, no work has yet examined these factors together in a single model. Building developmentally sensitive models of problematic alcohol use trajectories is key to developing effective prevention and intervention strategies. The present study includes 94 adolescents (ages 14–17 years; 53.3% girls; 89.2% White) entering a treatment facility for a variety of internalizing and externalizing forms of psychological distress. Levels of perceived parental psychological control, social anxiety, and coping-related drinking motives were assessed. Higher levels of perceived psychological control were associated with a greater endorsement of coping-related drinking motives; however, a significant proportion of that association was accounted for by elevated social anxiety symptoms. These data extend the existing literature and lay groundwork for more sophisticated experimental and longitudinal designs to corroborate the findings. Moreover, personality-targeted drinking interventions for adolescents may benefit from identifying elevated perceived psychological control as a developmentally relevant risk factor for social anxiety and problematic drinking motives and administering relevant interventions (e.g., personality-targeted coping skills training, parent-involved care) before drinking patterns are established. • Higher parental psychological control is related to more social anxiety symptoms. • Higher social anxiety symptoms are related to more coping-related drinking motives. • Psychological control had an indirect effect on coping motives via social anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether parental monitoring skills mediate the effect of hazardous parental alcohol consumption on adolescents' lifetime alcohol use. Methods: This three wave longitudinal study was conducted with 884 families (n = 1,768 participants) to evaluate the effectiveness of a family-based drug prevention program for adolescents and parents across 12 Brazilian cities. We used structural equation mediation modeling to analyze the effect of hazardous parental alcohol consumption at baseline on adolescents' lifetime alcohol use at 12-month follow-up, mediated by parental monitoring skills latent dimension at 6-month follow-up. Results: We found a significant indirect effect of parents' hazardous alcohol use on adolescents' alcohol use through parental monitoring (OR:1.18, 95%CI:1.02;1.36). Conclusion: Our finding underscores the importance of comprehensive preventive family alcohol approaches targeting adolescent alcohol use, which should consider both parental drinking behavior and monitoring practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate: (1) whether self-reported acute alcohol-related consequences among adolescents in the Nordic countries have declined in concert with the decline in alcohol consumption; (2) whether the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences has strengthened; and (3) whether the decline in alcohol-related consequences can be attributed to the decline in alcohol consumption. Methods: Data are from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) cross-sectional surveys in 2007, 2011 and 2015. Participants were students aged 15–16 years in 2007 (n = 16,035), 2011 (n = 14,765) and 2015 (n = 13,517). Alcohol consumption variables included lifetime and 12-month alcohol use, volume ethanol at last drinking occasion and heavy episodic drinking in the past 30 days. Self-reported acute alcohol-related consequences were measured as a sum index of experiencing the following at least once within the last 12 months: (1) an accident or injury; (2) being victimised by robbery or theft; or (3) had trouble with the police. Results: For all alcohol indicators, adolescent alcohol use decreased between 2007 and 2015. The highest prevalence estimates were found in Denmark, and here only the number of current drinkers decreased significantly. In addition, a decreasing trend in self-reported acute alcohol-related consequences was observed. We did not find a strengthening of the alcohol consumption consequences association from 2007 to 2015, except in Iceland. When all surveys were combined, the decrease in alcohol-related consequences could be explained by a decrease in alcohol consumption. Conclusions: Overall, adolescents aged 15–16 years exhibited decreasing trends in both alcohol consumption, less markedly in Denmark, and in our sum index of alcohol-related consequences between 2007 and 2015. Except for Iceland, we found no support for a strengthening of the alcohol-consequences association with declining drinking among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study is to examine the links between measures of social learning theory, self-control theory, and general strain theory and adolescent binge drinking. Using data from the Monitoring the Future 2019 Survey 2, the results indicate support for all three of the theories. In particular, soft drug using peers, personality version of low self-control, and depression all had links with adolescent binge drinking. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underage drinking has become a major public concern having a negative impact on the growth and development of the skeleton. Peak bone mass is attained during adolescence hence the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of acute binge alcohol consumption on trabecular morphometry and tensile strength of the adolescent mandible in the Sprague Dawley (SD) rat. The study comprised of 24 SD rats, aged 7 weeks, placed into either the alcohol-exposed [n=12 (6 males and 6 female)] or pair-fed control group [n=12 (6 male and 6 female)]. The treatment of the groups was as follows; the alcohol exposed group and the pair-fed control were administered a single daily dose of 3 g/kg of 20 % alcohol 3 days a week (alternate days) for 7 days and a caloric equivalent dose of maltose dextrin via oral gavage, respectively. The animals were terminated on day 7 via pentobarbital injection. The mandibles were harvested and scanned using a Nikon XTH 255L 3D-microCT scanner (Nikon Metrology, Leuven, Belgium), and biomechanical tests were done using a Shimadzu universal tensile strength testing machine (China). Following scanning and reconstruction, the trabecular morphometry was assessed using Volume Graphics Studio® software. A 3-point bending test was used to evaluate the tensile strength of the bone. Findings from our study showed changes in some trabecular parameters in the female alcohol-exposed group, while the male groups remained unaffected. No changes in tensile strength were seen when comparing male pair-fed control and alcohol-exposed groups and when comparing female pair-fed control and alcohol-exposed groups. Trabecular and tensile strength differences were observed between the sexes when comparing male pair-fed control and alcohol-exposed groups to female pair-fed control and alcohol-exposed groups. These findings do suggest that acute binge alcohol consumption has detrimental effects on the bone micro-architecture in female alcohol-exposed rats and that differences are seen between the sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental monitoring behaviors are negatively associated with adolescent substance use. Yet, the processes explaining these associations are still unclear. The current study examined adolescents' knowledge of minimum legal drinking age laws and their perceived acceptability of underage drinking as potential mediators of the links between parental monitoring behaviors and youth alcohol use. The sample included 1154 Belgian adolescents (Mage = 16.34, SD = 1.33; 71% girls), who were recruited in Wallonia (54.9%) and in Flanders (45.1%). Path analyses revealed that higher parental rule setting, but not solicitation, was related to lower alcohol use. Acceptability of underage drinking mediated this link, but not knowledge of the laws. Results suggest that beyond laws regulating the minimum legal drinking age, alcohol use prevention programs should consider the importance of parental rule setting and youth's perceived acceptability of underage drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Study objectivesAdolescence is characterized by significant brain development, accompanied by changes in sleep timing and architecture. It also is a period of profound psychosocial changes, including the initiation of alcohol use; however, it is unknown how alcohol use affects sleep architecture in the context of adolescent development. We tracked developmental changes in polysomnographic (PSG) and electroencephalographic (EEG) sleep measures and their relationship with emergent alcohol use in adolescents considering confounding effects (e.g. cannabis use).MethodsAdolescents (n = 94, 43% female, age: 12-21 years) in the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) study had annual laboratory PSG recordings across 4-years. Participants were no/low drinkers at baseline.ResultsLinear mixed effect models showed developmental changes in sleep macrostructure and EEG, including a decrease in slow wave sleep and slow wave (delta) EEG activity with advancing age. Emergent moderate/heavy alcohol use across three follow-up years was associated with a decline in percentage rapid eye movement (REM) sleep over time, a longer sleep onset latency (SOL) and shorter total sleep time (TST) in older adolescents, and lower non-REM delta and theta power in males.ConclusionsThese longitudinal data show substantial developmental changes in sleep architecture. Emergent alcohol use during this period was associated with altered sleep continuity, architecture, and EEG measures, with some effects dependent on age and sex. These effects, in part, could be attributed to the effects of alcohol on underlying brain maturation processes involved in sleep-wake regulation.