The extent to which adolescent substance use is associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms in midlife is not yet fully explored.
Longitudinal data from the national Monitoring the Future ...study was used. The sample included 11,830 12
th
graders (1976-1987) who were surveyed again at modal ages 50 (37.8%), 55 (46.3%), or 60 (15.8%) in 2008-2019. Approximately 48.7% were male; 81.5% identified as non-Hispanic White. Weighted logistic and multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine associations between past 30-day use of cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol at age 18, sociodemographics, and a midlife AUD symptom outcome (coded as non-drinking, drinking without AUD endorsed ≤1 criterion, or AUD symptoms endorsed 2+ criteria).
Prevalence of midlife AUD symptoms was 27.1%. Higher relative risk of reporting AUD symptoms (vs. drinking without AUD) was associated with age 18 substance use (any cigarette use vs. no use, any marijuana use vs. no use, binge drinking vs. both no use and drinking at less than binge levels), being male (vs. female), being non-Hispanic White (vs. non-Hispanic Black), and having a 4-year college degree. Higher relative risk of reporting non-drinking (vs. drinking without AUD) was associated with no 30-day alcohol use at age 18, being non-Hispanic Black or non-Hispanic other (vs. non-Hispanic White), and not having a 4-year college degree.
Findings suggest substance use at age 18 has meaningful associations with midlife AUD symptoms. Dissemination of prevention and intervention efforts in adolescence and early adulthood may be important for reducing hazardous midlife drinking.
•Depression moderated the link between COVID-related stress and vaping to cope.•The relation between stress and drinking more to cope was moderated by anxiety.•Depression moderated the link between ...economic hardship and marijuana use to cope.•The associated between isolation and vaping more to cope was moderated by depression.•The link between isolation and drinking more to cope was moderated by depression.
Since young adulthood is a vulnerable period for adverse mental health experiences and high-risk substance use, it is critical to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young adult mental health and substance use behaviors. Therefore, we determined whether the relationship between COVID-related stressors and using substances to cope with COVID-related social distancing and isolation was moderated by depression and anxiety among young adults. Data were from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) Vaping Supplement (total N = 1244). Logistic regressions assessed the relations between COVID-related stressors, depression, anxiety, demographic characteristics, and interactions between depression/anxiety and COVID-related stressors with vaping more, drinking more, and using marijuana to cope with COVID-related social distancing and isolation. Greater COVID-related stress due to social distancing was associated with vaping more to cope among those with more depression symptoms and drinking more to cope among those with more symptoms of anxiety. Similarly, COVID-related economic hardships were associated with using marijuana to cope among those with more symptoms of depression. However, feeling less COVID-related isolation and social distancing stress was linked to vaping and drinking more to cope, respectively, among those with more symptoms of depression. These findings suggest that the most vulnerable young adults are seeking substances to cope with the pandemic, while potentially experiencing co-occurring depression and anxiety along with COVID-related stressors. Therefore, intervention programs to support young adults who are struggling with their mental health in the aftermath of the pandemic as they transition into adulthood are critical.
•We examined 3 measures of driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC).•Adults with chronic pain were seeking medical cannabis certification.•Past 6-month DUIC rates were: 56% within 2 h, 51% a ...little high, 21% very high.•Prevalence of DUIC was high and interventions should be developed for prevention.
Driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) is a public health concern among those using medical cannabis. Understanding behaviors contributing to DUIC can inform prevention efforts. We evaluated three past 6-month DUIC behaviors among medical cannabis users with chronic pain.
Adults (N = 790) seeking medical cannabis certification or recertification for moderate/severe pain were recruited from February 2014 through June 2015 at Michigan medical cannabis clinics. About half of participants were male (52%) and 81% were White; their Mean age was 45.8 years. Participants completed survey measures of DUIC (driving within 2 h of use, driving while “a little high,” and driving while “very high”) and background factors (demographics, alcohol use, etc.). Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regressions were used to examine correlates of DUIC.
For the past 6 months, DUIC within 2 h of use was reported by 56.4% of the sample, DUIC while a “little high” was reported by 50.5%, and “very high” was reported by 21.1%. Greater cannabis quantity consumed and binge drinking were generally associated with DUIC behaviors. Higher pain was associated with lower likelihood of DUIC. Findings vary somewhat across DUIC measures.
The prevalence of DUIC is concerning, with more research needed on how to best measure DUIC. Prevention messaging for DUIC may be enhanced by addressing alcohol co-consumption.
In the United States, cannabis accessibility has continued to rise as the perception of its harmfulness has decreased. Only about 30% of regular cannabis users develop cannabis use disorder (CUD), ...but it is unclear if individuals who use cannabis regularly without ever developing CUD experience notable psychosocial impairment across the lifespan. Therefore, psychosocial functioning was compared across regular cannabis users with or without CUD and a non-user control group during adolescence (age 17; early risk) and young adulthood (ages 18-25; peak CUD prevalence).
Weekly cannabis users with CUD (n = 311), weekly users without CUD (n = 111), and non-users (n = 996) were identified in the Minnesota Twin Family Study. Groups were compared on alcohol and illicit drug use, psychiatric problems, personality, and social functioning at age 17 and from ages 18 to 25. Self-reported cannabis use and problem use were independently verified using co-twin informant report.
In both adolescence and young adulthood, non-CUD users reported significantly higher levels of substance use problems and externalizing behaviors than non-users, but lower levels than CUD users. High agreement between self- and co-twin informant reports confirmed the validity of self-reported cannabis use problems.
Even in the absence of CUD, regular cannabis use was associated with psychosocial impairment in adolescence and young adulthood. However, regular users with CUD endorsed especially high psychiatric comorbidity and psychosocial impairment. The need for early prevention and intervention - regardless of CUD status - was highlighted by the presence of these patterns in adolescence.
•Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is linked with many biopsychosocial problems in adulthood.•Individuals with & without CUD who regularly use cannabis experience similar problems.•Problems linked to ...regular use begin long before use initiation, as early as age 3.
Regular cannabis use, even without cannabis use disorder (CUD), is associated with numerous biopsychosocial problems. Biopsychosocial risk factors that precede regular use and CUD might reflect broader pre-existing risk factors rather than the consequence of cannabis use. We aimed to (1) replicate prior work differentiating psychosocial problems associated with regular cannabis use with or without CUD relative to no-use in adulthood, and (2) test if these use groups differed in biopsychosocial functioning in early and middle childhood.
Biopsychosocial characteristics of individuals at-risk for substance use problems (n = 402) reporting no-use, regular use without CUD, and regular use with CUD by young adulthood were prospectively compared during early childhood (ages 3–5), middle childhood (ages 9–11) and young adulthood (ages 18–25).
Regular use (vs. no-use) was associated with more health problems (mean d = |0.57|), psychopathology (mean d = |0.72|), social and family environment risk (mean d = |0.88|) in childhood and adulthood and comorbid substance use in adulthood (mean d = |1.25|). Regular use with and without CUD was linked to similar, developmentally-persistent patterns of problems across domains.
We found that childhood risk factors present many years prior to cannabis initiation (as early as age 3) differentiated patterns of adult cannabis use and CUD status in adulthood. Therefore, biopsychosocial impairments associated with regular cannabis use in adulthood is not solely attributable to cannabis exposure but can be traced back to early and persistent biopsychosocial risk that may benefit from early behavioral intervention, irrespective of CUD diagnosis.
Marijuana (MJ) refusal self-efficacy and obsessive/harmonious passion for MJ use are associated with use and related consequences but have not been examined simultaneously. We examined the relation ...among obsessive/harmonious passion for MJ use, refusal self-efficacy, frequency of use, and related consequences in an online community sample (n = 524; mean age = 23.78; 87.5% male). A path analysis revealed that, while controlling for the relationship between MJ use and consequences, lower refusal self-efficacy was related to greater obsessive passion and to greater harmonious passion, and was associated with more consequences but not with MJ use. Greater obsessive passion was associated with greater MJ use frequency and consequences, and greater harmonious passion was related to greater MJ use frequency and fewer consequences. Obsessive passion mediated the relation between lower refusal self-efficacy and greater MJ use and more consequences, and harmonious passion mediated the relation between lower refusal self-efficacy and consequences. Passion mediates the relationships between refusal self-efficacy and MJ use and consequences, with obsessive passion being the stronger mediator. Passion could be a relevant target in interventions aimed at changing a person's MJ use.
Same day use of alcohol and cannabis is prevalent among emerging/young adults and increases the risk for negative consequences. Although motives for alcohol and cannabis use are well-documented, ...specific motives on co-use days are under-investigated. We examined differences in motives on single substance use (i.e. alcohol or cannabis) versus co-use days in a sample of primarily cannabis-using emerging/young adults.
Participants (N = 97) aged 18-25 (M
age
= 22.2) were recruited from an urban Emergency Department (55.7% female, 46.4% African American, 57.7% public assistance) for a prospective daily diary study about risk behaviors. Participants received prompts for 28 daily text message assessments (up to 2716 surveys possible) of substance use and motives (social, enhancement, coping, conformity). We divided use days into three groups: alcohol use only (n = 126), cannabis use only (n = 805), and co-use (n = 237). Using fixed effects regression modeling, we fit models to estimate within-person effects of alcohol and cannabis motives on day type (alcohol/cannabis co-use versus single use).
In adjusted models, greater cannabis-related enhancement and social motives were associated with increased likelihood of co-use days compared to cannabis-only days. In contrast, greater alcohol-related social motives were associated with co-use days versus alcohol-only days in unadjusted, but not in adjusted models.
Findings suggest that cannabis use motives associated with increasing positive affect may be most compelling for those engaging in alcohol/cannabis use on a given day. Intervention programs for alcohol/cannabis use should address alcohol and cannabis use motives in relation to increasing positive affect and engaging in social situations.
•Findings demonstrate the advantages of using GT-based analyses.•Results suggested score reliability for BFI scales with 7–10 items were adequate.•The BFI’s score reliability for two item scales did ...not reach a .80 threshold.•These findings have indicated BFI score reliability was, in general, acceptable.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the Big Five Personality Inventory score reliability (BFI: John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991) utilizing Generalizability Theory analyses. Participants were recruited from a large public Midwestern university and provided complete data for the BFI on three measurement occasions (n=264). Results suggested score reliability for scales with 7–10 items were adequate. However, score reliability for two item scales did not reach a .80 threshold. These findings have indicated BFI score reliability was, in general, acceptable and demonstrated the advantages of using Generalizability Theory analyses to examine score reliability.
Objective: Alcohol misuse is a significant public health concern. Personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) involve the use of personalized information about one's drinking behaviors and can be ...delivered in person or via computer. The relative efficacy of these delivery methods remains an unanswered question. The primary aim of the current meta-analysis was to identify and directly compare randomized clinical trials of in-person PFIs and computer-delivered PFIs. Method: A total of 14 intervention comparisons from 13 manuscripts, of which 9 were college samples, were examined: in-person PFIs (N = 1,240; 49% female; 74% White) and computer-delivered PFIs (N = 1,201; 53% female; 73% White). Independent coders rated sample characteristics, study information, study design, intervention content, and study outcomes. Results: Weighted mean effect sizes were calculated using random-effects models. At short follow-up (≤4 months), there were no differences between in-person PFIs and computer-delivered PFIs on any alcohol use variable or alcohol-related problems. At long follow-up (>4 months), in-person PFIs were more effective than computer-delivered PFIs at impacting overall drinking quantity (d = .18) and drinks per week (d = .19). These effects were not moderated by sample characteristics. Conclusions: For assessing alcohol outcomes at shorter follow-ups, there were no differences between delivery modality. At longer follow-ups, in-person PFIs demonstrated some advantages over computer-delivered PFIs. We encourage researchers to continue to examine direct comparisons between these delivery modalities and to further examine the efficacy of in-person PFIs at longer follow-ups.
What is the public health significance of this article?
The study suggests that computer-delivered PFIs and in-person PFIs are viable strategies for alcohol interventions. In-person PFIs demonstrated some advantages over computer-delivered PFIs in long-term effects.
Objective: College students have been shown to be at higher risk than the general adult population for gambling-related problems. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a ...personalized feedback only intervention (PFB) among at-risk college student gamblers. Method: Three hundred thirty-three college students who met screening criteria were randomized into 1 of 3 conditions: PFB, education only (EDU), or assessment only (AO). Results: At 3-month follow-up, individuals in the PFB condition reported fewer dollars gambled and fewer gambling-related problems than those in the AO condition. There were no differences between those in the EDU and the AO conditions, or between those in the PFB and the EDU conditions. Conclusion: These findings are consistent with clinical trials examining other health behaviors, and have implications for the development and delivery of effective intervention programming for at-risk gamblers.
What is the public health significance of this article?
This study suggests that personalized feedback, even when delivered in the absence of a meeting with a clinician, can be effective at reducing harmful gambling-related behaviors among college students. This type of intervention might be relatively easy and inexpensive to disseminate.
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