A new paradigm for credibly administering placebo alcohol to underage drinkers

Background: The primary goal of this study was to establish a paradigm for credibly administering placebo alcohol to underage drinkers. We also sought to create a new, valid procedure for establishing placebo alcohol believability. Method: Participants were 138 American college students (66.7% female) predominantly (90.0%) under the legal drinking age. Groups of 2–3 participants and one same-sex confederate consumed mixed drinks, purportedly containing alcohol, ad-lib in a naturalistic bar-laboratory for 20 min. All beverages, however, were non-alcoholic but we used visual, olfactory, and taste cues to maximize placebo credibility. Also, the confederate made two scripted statements designed to increase the perception of drinking real alcohol. After the drinking portion, participants responded to survey items related to alcohol consumption and intoxication. Next, they were individually debriefed, with open-ended responses used to make a determination of whether the participant was deceived with respect to placebo alcohol. Results: All participants estimated consuming some amount of alcohol. However, using a more conservative criteria for estimating alcohol believability based on the debrief, 89.1% of participants were classified as deceived. Deceived participants were much more likely to estimate having a positive blood alcohol content and to say that their current level of intoxication was typical given the amount of alcohol consumed than non-deceived participants. Discussion: Credibly administering placebo alcohol to underage drinkers is possible. This approach carries great potential for future laboratory work. In addition, the methodology used here to classify participants as deceived or not deceived appears valid based on self-reported BAC estimation and intoxication levels

Misreporting in a randomized clinical trial for smoking cessation in adolescents

Introduction: Misreporting smoking behavior is common among younger smokers participating in clinical trials for smoking cessation. This study focused on the prevalence of and factors associated with adolescent misreporting of smoking behaviors within the context of a randomized clinical trial for smoking cessation. Methods: Adolescent smokers (N = 129) participated in a randomized clinical trial that compared two brief interventions for smoking cessation. Following the final (6-month) follow-up, a confidential, self-administered exit questionnaire examined the extent to which participants admitted to having misreported smoking quantity, frequency and/or consequences during the study. Factors associated with under- and over-reporting were compared to accurate-reporting. Results: One in 4 adolescent smokers (25.6%) admitted to under-reporting during the study and 14.7% admitted to over-reporting; 10.9% of the adolescents admitted to both under- and over-reporting. Rates of admitted misreporting did not differ between treatment conditions or recruitment site. Compared to accurate-reporting, under- and over-reporting were significantly associated with home smoking environment and the belief among adolescents that the baseline interviewer wanted them to report smoking more or less than they actually smoked. Compared to accurate reporters, over-reporters were more likely to be non-White and to report being concerned with the confidentiality of their responses. Conclusions: A post-study confidential debriefing questionnaire can be a useful tool for estimating rates of misreporting and examining whether potential differences in misreporting might bias the interpretation of treatment effects. Future studies are needed to thoroughly examine potentially addressable reasons that adolescents misreport their smoking behavior and to develop methods for reducing misreporting

Motivational interviewing to reduce substance-related consequences: Effects for incarcerated adolescents with depressed mood

Background: The impact of depressed mood on Motivational Interviewing (MI) to reduce risky behaviors and consequences in incarcerated adolescents was examined in this brief report. Methods: Adolescents (N = 189) were randomly assigned to receive MI or Relaxation Training (RT). Results: At 3-month follow-up assessment, MI significantly reduced risks associated with marijuana use, with a trend towards reducing risks associated with alcohol use. There was also a trend for depressive symptoms to be associated with reduced risks after release. Interaction effects were non-significant, indicating no moderating effects for depressed mood on treatment outcome. Conclusions: MI may be a useful treatment for incarcerated adolescents in order to reduce risks and consequences associated with substance use after release

Motivation to change alcohol use and treatment engagement in incarcerated youth

Adolescents have been reported to be less motivated to engage and remain in substance abuse treatment than adults. When they appear motivated, it is often due to external motivators such as family pressure or court mandated treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine if adolescents\u27 motivation to change alcohol use was related to treatment engagement while incarcerated and alcohol use after release. Participants (N = 114) were youth in a state correctional facility in the Northeast and included adolescents who engaged in at least monthly drinking. Motivation to change alcohol use was measured by the Alcohol Ladder (AL), and treatment engagement was measured by the Treatment Participation Questionnaire (comprised of positive and negative treatment engagement). Measures were administered at baseline, 2 months in facility follow up, and 3 months post release follow up. Analysis indicated acceptable test-retest stability (r = .388, p ≤ .001). The AL at 3 months post release significantly predicted quantity and frequency of alcohol use after release. The AL at baseline also significantly predicted positive and negative treatment engagement at 2 months into incarceration (i.e., 2 months in facility follow up) indicating predictive validity. These results suggest that the AL is a reliable, valid, and useful instrument for incarcerated youth

Daily College Student Drinking Patterns Across the First Year of College

Objective: Despite the long recognized importance and well-documented impact of drinking patterns on health and safety, college student drinking patterns are understudied. This study used a daily-level, academic-year-long, multisite sample to identify subpopulations of college student drinking patterns and to describe how these groups differ from one another before, during, and after their first year of college. Method: wo cohorts of first-year college students (n = 588; 59% female) reported daily drinking on a biweekly basis using web-based surveys and completed surveys before and after their first year of college. Results: Cluster analyses based on time series analysis estimates of within-person drinking differences (per weekday, semester, first 6 weeks) and other descriptors of day-to-day drinking identified five drinking patterns: two low (47% and 6%), two medium (24% and 15%), and one high (8%) drinking cluster. Multinomial logistic regression analyses examined cluster differences in pre-college characteristics (i.e., demographics, alcohol outcome expectancies, alcohol problems, depression, other substance use) and first-year college experiences (i.e., academic engagement, alcohol consequences, risky drinking practices, alcohol problems, drinking during academic breaks). Low-drinking students appeared to form a relatively homogeneous group, whereas two distinct patterns were found for medium-drinking students with different weekend and Thursday drinking rates. The Thursday drinking cluster showed lower academic engagement and greater participation in risky drinking practices. Conclusions: These findings highlight quantitative and qualitative differences in day-to-day drinking patterns and suggest a link between motivational differences and drinking patterns, which may be addressed in developing tailored interventional strategies

Treating Adolescents Together or Individually? Issues in Adolescent Substance Abuse Interventions

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66302/1/j.1530-0277.2002.tb02619.x.pd

Factores asociados al consumo de drogas ilícitas en estudiantes de secundaria, universitarios y población general en Colombia

Tesis doctoralSegún los estudios poblacionales que se realizan en Colombia desde 1992, el consumo de drogas ilegales crece en Colombia de manera sostenida. Tales estudios presentan análisis descriptivos, distribuciones porcentuales y prevalencias, sin que se ahonde en el escrutinio de los factores que están incidiendo en las cifras de consumo. Con el interés de ahondar en la comprensión de éste fenómeno, facilitar su predicción y contribuir con su atención integral, en esta investigación se propone identificar factores individuales, familiares y del contexto, asociados al consumo de drogas ilegales en Colombia. Para alcanzar dichos propósitos se realizan dos investigaciones: 1) una revisión sistemática sobre los factores que inciden en el consumo de drogas ilegales y 2) la formulación de tres modelos de factores asociados al consumo de drogas ilegales en Colombia y la clasificación del tipo de consumidores, a partir de los factores identificados previamente. Se analizaron las bases de datos de estudios nacionales realizados con población general, estudiantes de secundaria y estudiantes universitarios, en las cuales se utilizó la metodología del Sistema Interamericano de Datos Uniformes sobre Consumo de Drogas. Inicialmente se establecieron en cada uno de los tres grupos analizados, los factores relacionados con el consumo de sustancias ilícitas y las clases latentes de consumidores, los cuales permitieron plantear tres modelos de factores asociados al consumo, uno para cada población. Se encontró que el consumo de drogas ilícitas en el último año, se asoció en las tres poblaciones, con tener amigos y familiares consumidores de drogas ilícitas; haber iniciado el consumo de tabaco y alcohol, y tener una baja percepción del riesgo con respecto al uso de marihuana. Por su parte, con el análisis de clases latentes se identificaron tres clases entre los consumidores de drogas ilícitas en la población general, seis clases entre escolares y cuatro clases entre universitarios. Los resultados indican factores que pueden ser considerados para orientar la prevención del consumo de drogas ilegales y su atención integral.1. INTRODUCCIÓN 2. JUSTIFICACIÓN Y PLANTEAMIENTO DEL PROBLEMA 3. OBJETIVOS 4. ESTUDIO 1: REVISIÓN SISTEMÁTICA SOBRE LOS FACTORES ASOCIADOS AL RIESGO DEL CONSUMO DE DROGAS ILEGALES 5. ESTUDIO 2: FORMULACIÓN DE MODELOS DE CONSUMO DE DROGAS ILÍCITAS EN COLOMBIA, CON ESTUDIANTES DE SECUNDARIA, UNIVERSITARIOS Y POBLACIÓN GENERAL 6.REFERENCIAS 7. ANEXOSDoctoradoDoctor en Psicologí

Complex Reorganization and Predominant Non-Homologous Repair Following Chromosomal Breakage in Karyotypically Balanced Germline Rearrangements and Transgenic Integration

We defined the genetic landscape of balanced chromosomal rearrangements at nucleotide resolution by sequencing 141 breakpoints from cytogenetically-interpreted translocations and inversions. We confirm that the recently described phenomenon of “chromothripsis” (massive chromosomal shattering and reorganization) is not unique to cancer cells but also occurs in the germline where it can resolve to a karyotypically balanced state with frequent inversions. We detected a high incidence of complex rearrangements (19.2%) and substantially less reliance on microhomology (31%) than previously observed in benign CNVs. We compared these results to experimentally-generated DNA breakage-repair by sequencing seven transgenic animals, and revealed extensive rearrangement of the transgene and host genome with similar complexity to human germline alterations. Inversion is the most common rearrangement, suggesting that a combined mechanism involving template switching and non-homologous repair mediates the formation of balanced complex rearrangements that are viable, stably replicated and transmitted unaltered to subsequent generations

Venus Evolution Through Time: Key Science Questions, Selected Mission Concepts and Future Investigations

In this work we discuss various selected mission concepts addressing Venus evolution through time. More specifically, we address investigations and payload instrument concepts supporting scientific goals and open questions presented in the companion articles of this volume. Also included are their related investigations (observations & modeling) and discussion of which measurements and future data products are needed to better constrain Venus’ atmosphere, climate, surface, interior and habitability evolution through time. A new fleet of Venus missions has been selected, and new mission concepts will continue to be considered for future selections. Missions under development include radar-equipped ESA-led EnVision M5 orbiter mission (European Space Agency 2021), NASA-JPL’s VERITAS orbiter mission (Smrekar et al. 2022a), NASA-GSFC’s DAVINCI entry probe/flyby mission (Garvin et al. 2022a). The data acquired with the VERITAS, DAVINCI, and EnVision from the end of this decade will fundamentally improve our understanding of the planet’s long term history, current activity and evolutionary path. We further describe future mission concepts and measurements beyond the current framework of selected missions, as well as the synergies between these mission concepts, ground-based and space-based observatories and facilities, laboratory measurements, and future algorithmic or modeling activities that pave the way for the development of a Venus program that extends into the 2040s (Wilson et al. 2022)