Factors Associated with Alcohol Use in University Students
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Dispositional optimism is the generalized, relatively stable tendency to expect good outcomes across important life domains. This article provides a representative review of 30 years of research on dispositional optimism and physical well-being. Assessment of optimism is described, along with data regarding its stability. A review of the research linking optimism and physical health is then presented. Included in the review are initial studies suggesting that optimism and physical well-being might be linked as well as more recent, larger scale epidemiological studies that make the point more emphatically. Also considered are potential pathways—behavioral, biological, and social—that might explain these associations. The article concludes with a brief look to the future, describing several issues and questions that still need to be answered. These questions include the relationship of optimism and pessimism to each other (and the implications of that relationship for physical well-being), the origins of optimism and pessimism, and interventions that might be implemented to reduce the negative impact of a pessimistic outlook.
Binge drinking by college students is a problematic behavior. However, data on binge drinking and the reasons for drinking by college students in Japan are scarce. We explored the reasons for drinking among college students. The study used a cross-sectional design and a self-administered questionnaire. From December 2016 to March 2017, we sampled undergraduate and graduate students aged 20 or older at 35 colleges in the Kanto region of Japan. The questionnaire addressed 1) frequency of drinking alcohol, 2) amount of drinking per day, 3) frequency of binge drinking in the past year, and 4) reasons for drinking (with 12 possible responses). The t-test was used to compare the means between binge drinkers and non-binge drinkers. Logistic regression analysis was conducted on binge drinking and the reasons for drinking. The participants included 303 men and 260 women. Significant differences between men and women included the presence of binge drinking (men: 74.9%; women: 59.6%). Among male students, the statistically significant reasons given for binge drinking were “to feel happy or be in a good mood” and “to relieve stress,” whereas among female students, the reasons were “to feel happy or be in a good mood,” “to facilitate interpersonal relationships,” “to forget something bad,” and “to relieve stress.” The reasons for drinking associated with binge drinking were identified. It is important to incorporate these results into preventive education about binge drinking aimed at college students in Japan.
The aim of this study was to extend the psychometric evaluation of the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ) by assessing the factor structure across three countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The sample included 1809 students from Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary. Based on an initial confirmative factor analysis, a 2-factor structure by Neal and Carey (2005) was confirmed in the Lithuanian sample. Next, exploratory factor analyses were used on the Slovak and Hungarian subsamples separately. For both national subsamples, a very similar four factor solution was found, which was confirmed by confirmatory factor analyses on the rest of the data. Despite the reduced number of items, the abridged scale did not suffer in terms of its internal reliability and thus provides an adequate approximation of self-regulation levels as the entire scale or as the scale with the proposed 4-factor solution. © 2018 Institute of Experimental Psychology, Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
The present study aimed to evaluate the alcohol consumption profile and behaviors and consequences associated with this consumption among university students. This cross-sectional, observational, and predictive correlational study was conducted with students from a public university in Southeastern Brazil in different course periods (first-year, middle-year and last-year students). Socio-demographic data; prevalence of use of alcohol and other drugs in the previous 12 months and in the previous 30 days; information about academic behavior; information about the negative consequences resulting from alcohol use; risk behaviors; depressive symptoms; and symptoms of psychological distress were collected. The Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was also used. Of all 1139 students, 91% used alcohol in their lifetime. Last-year students consumed alcohol more often than first-year students in their lifetime (93% vs 88%), in the previous 12 months (86% vs 78%) and in the previous 30 days (75% vs 66%). The prevalence of alcohol use with risk of dependence was similar among firs-year (31%), middle-year (25%) and last-year (25%) students; 84% of them did not consider this consumption to be harmful to health. The use of other drugs; the use of tobacco, marijuana or cocaine with risk of dependence; depression; psychological distress; risk behavior; and low interest in academic activities were more prevalent among students who consumed alcohol with risk of dependence, compared to those who consumed it without such risk. In conclusion, it was observed alarming frequencies and patterns of alcohol use among university students as well as negative consequences and risk behaviors associated with this consumption. Policies on alcohol use prevention should include students as soon as they enter university. © 2017, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia. All rights reserved.
Background
Alcohol drinking was linked to self-rated health in different populations, but the observed association was inconsistent. We studied the association among university students across three European countries with different patterns of drinking.
Methods
We analyzed data from three universities, one from each country: Germany (beer dominant), Bulgaria (wine dominant), and Poland (unclassified among youths, spirits dominant in adults) (N = 2103). Frequency of drinking and problem drinking (≥2 positive responses on CAGE-scale), on the one side, and self-rated health, caring for one’s own health, and worsening of health since the last year, on the other side, were assessed by means of self-administered questionnaire. The association between alcohol- (independent) and health-related (dependent) variables was evaluated by means of logistic regression, adjusting for country and sex.
Results
Poor self-rated health and worsened health since previous year were associated with problem drinking {odds ratio 1.82 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21–2.73] and 1.61 (95% CI 1.17–2.21), respectively}, but not with a higher frequency of drinking. In contrast, not caring for one’s own health was associated with frequent drinking [1.40 (95% CI 1.10–1.78)], but not with problem drinking [1.25 (95% CI 0.95–1.63)]. The results were consistent across the studied countries and for both sexes.
Conclusion
The health status of university students was associated with problem drinking. A high frequency of drinking was associated with the lack of care of own health, but it was not associated with current health status. These associations were independent of the predominant pattern of drinking across the studied countries.
Adolescence is an important neurodevelopmental period marked by rapidly escalating rates of alcohol and drug use. Over the past decade, research has attempted to disentangle pre- and post-substance use effects on brain development by using sophisticated longitudinal designs. This review focuses on recent, prospective studies and addresses the following important questions: (1) what neuropsychological and neural features predate adolescent substance use, making youth more vulnerable to engage in heavy alcohol or drug use, and (2) how does heavy alcohol and drug use affect normal neural development and cognitive functioning? Findings suggest that pre-existing neural features that relate to increased substance use during adolescence include poorer neuropsychological functioning on tests of inhibition and working memory, smaller gray and white matter volume, changes in white matter integrity, and altered brain activation during inhibition, working memory, reward, and resting state. After substance use is initiated, alcohol and marijuana use are associated with poorer cognitive functioning on tests of verbal memory, visuospatial functioning, psychomotor speed, working memory, attention, cognitive control, and overall IQ. Heavy alcohol use during adolescence is related to accelerated decreases in gray matter and attenuated increases in white matter volume, as well as increased brain activation during tasks of inhibition and working memory, relative to controls. Larger longitudinal studies with more diverse samples are needed to better understand the interactive effects of alcohol, marijuana, and other substances, as well as the role of sex, co-occurring psychopathology, genetics, sleep, and age of initiation on substance use.
Problem statement: Problem behavior theory describes both protective factors and risk factors to explain adolescent problem behaviors, such as delinquency, alcohol use, and reckless driving. The theory holds that problem behaviors involving risky behavior are used by adolescents as a means to gain peer acceptance and respect. Problem behaviors constitute a significant part of gaining independence from the family, coping with stress, and eliminating or reducing negativity and pressure. Purpose of study: This study was designed to examine the risk factors related to personality systems, the risk factors related to perceived environment, and the effects of risk-taking variables on problem behavior in a structural model. Methods: This study constitutes causal comparative research in which the effects of personal system risk factors, perceived environment risk factors, and risk-taking variables on problem behavior are analyzed and performed using correlation research. Data have been collected during research sessions with different age groups, and cross-sectional research methods have been used. The dependent variable of the research is problem behavior, while the independent variables are personality characteristics and environment. The mediating variable is risk-taking. The study sample consists of adolescents aged 15 to 18 in Turkey. With purposive sampling, 2834 adolescents with different socioeconomic and cultural characteristics from three Turkish cities (i.e., Ankara, Sivas, and Mugla) were selected. Both a personal data form and the Adolescent Health and Development Questionnaire (AHDQ) were used. For data analysis, participants' demographic characteristics and average scores according to scale frequency and percentage distribution were used. In order to test the developed model, a path analysis with latent variables method, which puts forth both mediation and direct effects, was implemented. Conclusion and recommendations: Findings demonstrated that risk factors mentioned in problem behavior theory increase problem behavior with risk-taking. As a tendency to take risks increases, the probability of exhibiting problem behavior increases. When observing the risk factors in personality systems and perceived environment systems, the particular risk factors of stress, depression, self-esteem, and alienation in the personality system lead to an individual's risk-taking, hence his or her demonstrating increased problem behavior. Risk factors in perceived environment, such as living environment, relationships with parents, and attitudes of friends, have determinative effects on adolescents' risk-taking and increase the probability of their exhibiting problem behavior. Finally, a positive correlation has been determined between a risk-taking tendency and problem behavior.
Within the framework of Bandura's theory, problematic Internet use is the product of deficient self-regulatory processes. It has previously been shown by several studies that psychosocial disorders such as anxiety or depression make people inclined to develop maladaptive behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether self-regulation skills and depressive symptoms predict generalized problematic Internet use (GPIU). The study was conducted among university students using Caplan's model of GPIU. Previous findings related to self-regulation skills and GPIU among university students have not produced consistent results. A cross-sectional design was employed to assess the study objective. First year university students from Slovakia (n=814) completed the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire, Modified Beck Depression Inventory and Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2. Linear regression models were built to explore whether self-regulation and depressive symptoms predict problematic Internet use. No gender differences were found regarding the pattern of associations between self-regulation and GPIU nor between depressive symptoms and GPIU. Higher levels of depressive symptoms positively predicted GPIU (p<0.001). Self-regulation negatively predicted GPIU (p<0.001). Gender was not associated with GPIU. This study showed that problems with self-regulation skills as well as depressive symptoms might lead to problematic Internet use.
Background:
The main aim of this study was to investigate, in alcohol-dependent (AD) patients, the use of the 5 emotion regulation strategies specified in Gross's (1998, Rev Gen Psychol, 2, 271) process model of emotion regulation with the use of a semi-structured interview allowing a detailed and high-quality assessment of emotion regulation strategies. A secondary aim was to examine the possible influence of protracted abstinence and detoxification on emotion dysregulation. Finally, the association between the level of craving and the types of regulation strategies was investigated.
Methods:
Forty-four treatment-seeking AD patients with varying time spent in rehabilitation, and 26 healthy controls were interviewed using a version of the Emotion Regulation Interview (Werner et al., 2011, J Psychopathol Behav Assess, 33, 346) adapted to alcohol dependence.
Results:
Compared to controls, AD patients reported significantly greater use of response modulation and attentional deployment, but lesser use of cognitive change. Among patients, (1) rehabilitation duration was positively correlated with the use of cognitive change and (2) the use of response modulation was positively associated with the level of craving.
Conclusions:
These findings clarify the specific pattern of emotion dysregulation associated with alcohol dependence. They also suggest that (1) abstinence is associated with a shift toward more adaptive emotion regulation patterns and that (2) inefficient regulation strategies may lead to craving and the maintenance of alcohol use. If these findings are confirmed through longitudinal and mediation designs, they will have important clinical implications.
Difficulty controlling impulsive behaviors when experiencing negative emotions is a prominent risk factor for hazardous alcohol use, and prior research suggests that drinking to cope may mediate this association. The present study examines this possibility prospectively in a sample of 490 young adult women between the ages of 18 and 25. Participants completed measures of emotion-driven impulse control difficulties, drinking to cope, and hazardous alcohol use at 6 time points over the course of approximately 20 months (i.e., 1 assessment every 4 months). Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that drinking to cope fully mediated the relationship between emotion-driven impulse control difficulties and hazardous alcohol use when examining these relationships between individuals and partially mediated this relation when examining these relationships within individuals. These findings suggest that drinking to cope is a key mechanism in the relationship between emotion-driven impulse control difficulties and hazardous drinking. Results highlight the importance of targeting both emotion dysregulation and drinking to cope when treating young women for alcohol use problems. (PsycINFO Database Record
Self-regulation has been one of most studied developmental skills, given its close relation with health and lifestyle, adjustment and resilience and in the prevention of risk behaviours as substance use. Given the lack of studies about self-regulation and tobacco use in Portuguese context, this paper aims to present the results of the confirmatory factor analysis of the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (Carey, Neal & Collins, 2004) in our population, exploring the role of self-regulation in tobacco use. To do that, the SSRQ and a socio-demographic questionnaire was administered to a sample of 390 adolescents, mostly females (n=228, 59.2%), with ages ranging from 15 and 18 years old (M=16.05, SD=.865). Results allow us to find a good fit model with good reliability of the SSRQ. Descriptive statistics and differential studies allow us to find differences in impulse control according gender and a negative correlation with age. Results allow us also to verify a negative correlation between selfregulation and onset age of tobacco use and a negative correlation between control impulse and tobacco use. Data is analysed according to the literature and its implications to prevention and further researches are presented.
To test a model of the religion-health connection to determine whether religious coping plays a mediating role in health behaviors in a national sample of African Americans.
Participants completed a telephone survey (N = 2370) assessing religious involvement, religious coping, health behaviors, and demographics.
Religious beliefs were associated with greater vegetable consumption, which may be due to the role of positive and negative religious coping. Negative religious coping played a role in the relationship between religious beliefs and alcohol consumption. There was no evidence of mediation for fruit consumption, alcohol use in the past 30 days, or smoking.
Findings have implications for theory and health promotion activities for African Americans.
The first year of college can be a difficult developmental transition for many students, although it is also a time of personal growth and maturation. Little is known about how self-regulation abilities mature across this transition, nor whether maturation predicts better adjustment across the first year. We investigated the development of three self-regulation abilities (constructive thinking, emotional regulation, and mastery) and relations of this development to adjustment (depression, anxiety, and stress) in a sample of 162 first-year students. Data were gathered at two time points: just prior to their attendance at a large public northeastern university and then again at the end of the first year. Results indicated that, on average, students did not increase in their constructive thinking or emotion regulation abilities and actually decreased in their sense of mastery. In bivariate analyses, increases in all three self-regulation abilities were related to better adjustment across the year, effects that remained when examined simultaneously in multiple regression analyses. Further, analyses showed that change in self-regulation abilities, rather than mean levels per se, predicted changes in adjustment over the first year. Implications for interventions to assist students in the development of these self-regulation skills in regard to adjustment are discussed.
The increasing prominence of standardized testing to assess student learning motivated the current investigation. We propose that standardized achievement test scores assess competencies determined more by intelligence than by self-control, whereas report card grades assess competencies determined more by self-control than by intelligence. In particular, we suggest that intelligence helps students learn and solve problems independent of formal instruction, whereas self-control helps students study, complete homework, and behave positively in the classroom. Two longitudinal, prospective studies of middle school students support predictions from this model. In both samples, IQ predicted changes in standardized achievement test scores over time better than did self-control, whereas self-control predicted changes in report card grades over time better than did IQ. As expected, the effect of self-control on changes in report card grades was mediated in Study 2 by teacher ratings of homework completion and classroom conduct. In a third study, ratings of middle school teachers about the content and purpose of standardized achievement tests and report card grades were consistent with the proposed model. Implications for pedagogy and public policy are discussed.
The relation of psychosocial protective factors to involvement in problem behavior—alcohol and drug abuse, delinquency, and sexual precocity—was investigated in a longitudinal study of 7th-, 8th-, and 9th-grade adolescents in a large, urban school district. Protective factors were drawn from the personality, the perceived environment, and the behavior systems of problem-behavior theory. The findings show a significant inverse relation between protection and problem-behavior involvement. There is a significant interaction between protection and risk in the prediction of problem behavior: Protection is shown to moderate the relation of risk to problem behavior. Protective factors are also significant predictors of change in adolescent problem behavior over time. Direct effects of protection are consistent across all gender and racial/ethnic subgroups; moderator effects are evident for female, White, and Hispanic subgroups only.
Given the widespread use of the Internet, researchers have begun to examine the personal and social consequences associated with excessive online involvement. The present study examined college students' problematic Internet use (PIU) behaviors within the framework of Jessor and Jessor's (1977) problem-behavior theory. Its specific aim was to investigate the links between PIU with both internalizing (depression, social anxiety) and externalizing (substance use and other risky behaviors) problems. Relevant variables from the perceived environmental system, the personality system, and the behavioral system were entered in a canonical correlation analysis. The analysis yielded two distinct functions: the first function, titled traditional problem-behavior syndrome, characterized students who are impulsive, hold socially deviant attitudes and show a propensity to use tobacco and illicit drugs. The second function, titled problematic Internet-behavior syndrome, characterized students who are socially anxious, depressed, report conflictive family relations, and show a propensity toward PIU. Thus, PIU did not share the characteristics typically associated with the traditional problem-behavior syndrome consistent with problem-behavior theory, but showed correlates more consistent with internalizing rather than externalizing problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
Recent reports of problematic forms of Internet usage bring new currency to the problem of "media addictions" that have long been the subject of both popular and scholarly writings. The research in this article reconsidered such behavior as deficient self-regulation within the framework of A. Bandura's (1991) theory of self-regulation. In this framework, behavior patterns that have been called media addictions lie at one extreme of a continuum of unregulated media behavior that extends from normally impulsive media consumption patterns to extremely problematic behavior that might properly be termed pathological. These unregulated media behaviors are the product of deficient self-regulatory processes through which media consumers monitor, judge, and adjust their own behavior, processes that may be found in all media consumers. The impact of deficient self-regulation on media behavior was examined in a sample of 465 college students. A measure of deficient self-regulation drawn from the diagnostic criteria used in past studies of pathological Internet usage was significantly and positively correlated to Internet use across the entire range of consumption, including among normal users who showed relatively few of the "symptoms." A path analysis demonstrated that depression and media habits formed to alleviate depressed moods undermined self-regulation and led to increased Internet usage.
This study examined the relationships between stress and both alcohol use and alcohol problems, in addition to testing the possibility that social support and coping styles significantly moderate these relationships. Two samples of men and women in their 20s and 30s were studied. Findings showed that stress was unrelated to alcohol consumption in 1 sample, and, although there were significant associations in the 2nd sample, the overall percentage of variance explained was small. Stress appeared to be more highly related to alcohol problems, with some stress measures showing a protective relationship vis á vis alcohol problems and others acting in ways that can put people at risk for alcohol problems. Coping styles and social support interacted significantly with some measures of life stress (e.g., daily hassles, negative life events), but only in some circumstances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Emotion dysregulation and impulsivity are important factors influencing the development and course of alcohol dependence. However, few empirical studies investigate the association between different aspects of impulsivity (cognitive, attentional, behavioral), emotion regulation, and alcohol use disorder symptoms in the same model. The goal of this study was to assess the association between emotion regulation and different facets of impulsivity among patients with an alcohol use disorder and healthy controls. The sample was comprised of 273 individuals: 180 participants with an alcohol use disorder undergoing inpatient alcohol treatment and 93 healthy controls. Emotion regulation was assessed using the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test subscale. Impulsivity was assessed with Barratt's Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Statistical models tested both the BIS-11 total score, as well as three secondary factors (non-planning, attentional, and motor impulsivity). Findings indicate that individuals with alcohol use disorder symptoms were characterized by poor emotion regulation and high levels of impulsivity in all analyzed domains. Moreover, path analytic models indicated that after accounting for demographic factors (i.e., biological sex, age, education) there was evidence for a significant indirect effect of alcohol use disorder symptomatology on non-planning and attentional impulsivity via emotion regulation. There was no association between emotion regulation and motor impulsivity. These findings indicate the importance of targeting emotion regulation skills as well as behavioral control when treating patients with alcohol use disorder.
Objective:
This article provides information on the extent of alcohol use and other drug use among American college students.
Method:
Five different sources of data are examined for estimating recent levels of alcohol (and other drug) use among college students: Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS), the Core Institute (CORE), Monitoring the Future (MTF), National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRBS) and National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA).
Results:
Alcohol use rates are very high among college students. Approximately two of five American college students were heavy drinkers, defined as having had five or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks. Alcohol use is higher among male than female students. White students are highest in heavy drinking, black students are lowest and Hispanic students are intermediate. Use of alcohol--but not cigarettes, marijuana and cocaine--is higher among college students than among noncollege age-mates. Longitudinal data show that, while in high school, students who go on to attend college have lower rates of heavy drinking than do those who will not attend college. Both groups increase their heavy drinking after high school graduation, but the college students increase distinctly more and actually surpass their nonstudent age-mates. Trend data from 1980 to 1999 show some slight improvement in recent years.
Conclusions:
Despite improvements in the past 20 years, colleges need to do more to reduce heavy alcohol use among students.
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Patterns of Internet use among 531 college students were investigated (46.3% men, 53.7% women, 68.5% Caucasian, 10.7% Hispanic American, 8.9% Asian American, 3% African American, 0.2% American Indian, 8.7% international students, age M = 24.46). Seventy-three percent of the students accessed the Internet at least once a week, 13% of weekly users reported that their use was excessive and significantly interfered with personal functioning. Findings support further development of educational programming and research.
Discusses substantive issues in predicting drinking patterns from expectancies, as well as issues of content and measurement of the scales developed to measure these expectancies. In recent years, much research has suggested that alcohol expectancies--or the beliefs that individuals hold about the effects of alcohol on their behavior, moods, and emotions--are an important factor in motivating drinking behavior. Although measures of these expectancies have consistently been shown to be correlated with measures of alcohol use, conceptual and methodological problems remain to be addressed. In order to progress in understanding this potentially important psychosocial factor in abusive and nonabusive drinking, alcohol expectancy research, which has been atheoretical in nature, should attend to potential contributions from other areas of research in psychology. Language: en
This paper looks at religious socialization in specific families and their local schools and churches, in order to examine the roots of gender differentiation in beliefs, attitudes and practice. Christian beliefs and practices were not usually seen by the mothers as relevant to their everyday life, even if they were churchgoers, but were seen as desirable for young children. It was precisely the divorce of Christianity from everyday life that made it a 'natural' part of childhood and naturally outgrown. Church schools providing the aspects of Christianity mothers want for their children are popular, but more specific Christian teaching can lead to fears that children are being 'indoctrinated'. Girls had more positive attitudes towards religion and higher levels of belief than boys, just as their mothers were more interested in religion than their fathers and more likely to attend a church. The mothers' central values of individualism, autonomy and freedom, mitigate against commitment to any Christian denomination and lead them to abhor any attempt to influence their own or their childrens' religiosity above the 'normal' level. As Christianity is puerilized so it becomes the particular province of women who still take the main responsibility for the care of the young children at home, nursery and infant school and Sunday school.
This article reviews the neurocognitive and neuroimaging literature regarding the effect of alcohol use on human adolescent brain structure and function. Adolescents who engage in heavy alcohol use, even at subdiagnostic levels, show differences in brain structure, function, and behavior when compared with non-drinking controls. Preliminary longitudinal studies have helped disentangle premorbid factors from consequences associated with drinking. Neural abnormalities and cognitive disadvantages both appear to predate drinking, particularly in youth who have a family history of alcoholism, and are directly related to the neurotoxic effect of alcohol use. Binge drinking and withdrawal and hangover symptoms have been associated with the greatest neural abnormalities during adolescence, particularly in frontal, parietal, and temporal regions.
Impulsivity is a widely studied personality trait and research construct that has been implicated as a risk factor for substance use, including initiating and continuing use. However, relatively few studies have examined impulsivity as a predictor of treatment outcome. Because impulsivity has been operationalised in many different ways, cross-comparisons of empirical studies have been difficult.
The PubMed database was searched in September 2013. Reference lists of papers retrieved from this search were also manually scanned for additional resources. Studies were included if they presented data that assessed impulsivity as a predictor of treatment outcomes.
The body of literature reviewed in this paper suggests that higher pretreatment impulsivity, regardless of how it is measured, usually is associated with poorer treatment outcomes. Recent data indicate that some psychosocial and pharmacological treatments may directly impact impulsivity and thus represent an interesting avenue for further research.
Impulsivity appears to be a key predictor of substance use treatment outcomes and warrants more attention in the improvement of treatment outcomes. Suggestions for future research on the role of impulsivity in substance use treatment are provided. [Amy M. Loree AM, Leslie H. Lundahl LH, David M. Ledgerwood DM. Impulsivity as a predictor of treatment outcome in substance use disorders: Review and synthesis. Drug Alcohol Rev 2014].
Objective This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of alcohol and drug use.
Although alcohol use can be problematic, research suggests considerable heterogeneity in problems across various drinking classes; particularly among the heaviest drinking groups. Differences in self-regulation may differentiate drinking classes. The current study evaluated differences in emotional and behavioral self-regulation across four empirically derived drinking classes. Participants (n=1895 college students) completed online measures of demographics, alcohol involvement, and self-regulation. Using latent class analysis (LCA), four drinking classes were empirically derived. Moderate drinkers were the largest class (38.1%) followed by light drinkers (37.4%), heavy drinkers (17.8%), and problem drinkers (6.8%). Each class was predicted by self-regulation indicators in the LCA. With the exception of urgency, behavioral self-regulation distinguished primarily between light drinkers and the other three classes. Emotional self-regulation and urgency were not associated with use, but did distinguish among the most problematic class. Specifically, emotional instability and urgency were higher in the problem use class than all other classes. Overall, the findings suggest important differences in behavioral and emotional self-regulation across drinking classes that differentially contribute to use and consequences. Further, the results highlight the importance of examining homogenous subpopulations of drinkers that may differ on indices other than consumption.
Anecdotal reports indicated that some on-line users were becoming addicted to the Internet in much the same way that others became addicted to drugs or alcohol, which resulted in academic, social, and occupational impairment. However, research among sociologists, psychologists, or psychiatrists has not formally identified addictive use of the Internet as a problematic behavior. This study investigated the existence of Internet addiction and the extent of problems caused by such potential misuse. Of all the diagnoses referenced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1995), Pathological Gambling was viewed as most akin to the pathological nature of Internet use. By using Pathological Gambling as a model, addictive Internet use can be defined as an impulse-control disorder that does not involve an intoxicant. Therefore, this study developed a brief eight-item questionnaire referred to as a Diagnostic Questionnaire (DQ), which modified criteria for pathological gambling to provide a screening instrument for classification of participants. On the basis of this criteria, case studies of 396 dependent Internet users (Dependents) and 100 nondependent Internet users (Nondependents) were classified. Qualitative analyses suggest significant behavioral and functional usage differences between the two groups such as the types of applications utilized, the degree of difficulty controlling weekly usage, and the severity of problems noted. Clinical and social implications of pathological Internet use and future directions for research are discussed.
Technological catastrophes, defined as mishaps involving breakdown in human-made systems, appear to differ in the nature of threats that they pose. Coping with chronic stress associated with these events was examined by considering response to the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Using the Ways of Coping Inventory (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980), use of emotional regulation, problem-oriented coping, and the assumption of responsibility or blame for problems associated with living near the damaged plant were considered. Patterns of response at TMI were compared to those of a control group, consisting of people living near an undamaged nuclear plant more than 100 miles from TMI. Stress was assessed by making simultaneous measurements of symptom reporting, task performance, and urinary catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine). Findings suggested that both emotionally-focused coping and self-blame were associated with less stress than were problem-focused coping and denial. Further, emotional regulation and assumption of responsibility for encountered difficulty were related to one another and to perceived control as well. This suggested that a control-oriented coping style, in which the perception of control is actively created or maintained, can be effective in reducing distress associated with technological catastrophes.
Connaissant les liens entre depression et adolescence, la frequence des etats depressifs et la forte prevalence du suicide chez les 15-24 ans, nous nous sommes interesses a une population de jeunes adultes, etudiants a l'universite de Poitiers. Dans une approche descriptive et analytique, nous avons interroge plus de 1500 etudiants de 18 a 24 ans dans differentes UFR, par l'intermediaire d'un autoquestionnaire. Dans ce but, nous souhaitions estimer la prevalence des syndromes depressifs dans cette population et definir des facteurs associes. Notre outil d'evaluation reprenait l'echelle CESD, les criteres DSM-IV d'episode depressif majeur, ainsi que des items sur la consommation de produits toxiques, les idees de suicide, les antecedents d'abus sexuel et d'eventuels symptomes psychotiques. Les resultats montrent une forte prevalence des syndromes depressifs chez l'etudiant avec, au-dela de l'episode depressif majeur, d'autres entites « subsyndromiques » en faveur d' une approche dimensionnelle du trouble. Nous retrouvons les syndromes depressifs associes a une consommation abusive de toxiques d'autant plus importante que la depression est intense. Enfin, les mauvaises relations familiales, qu'elles soient entre les parents ou entre l'etudiant et les parents, sont elles aussi associees a la prevalence de la depression.
The purpose of the present study was to place drinking motives within the context of the Five-Factor Model of personality. Specifically, we sought to determine whether certain personality domains and facets of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) predict Enhancement, Coping, Social, and/or Conformity drinking motives from the Revised Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ-R). A sample of 256 university student drinkers (M age =21.3 years) completed the NEO-PI-R and DMQ-R. In bivariate correlations, the two negative reinforcement motives (Coping and Conformity) were positively correlated with Neuroticism and negatively correlated with Extraversion. The two positive reinforcement motives (Enhancement and Social) were positively correlated with Extraversion and negatively correlated with Conscientiousness. Multiple regression analyses revealed that personality domain scores predicted two of the four drinking motives (i.e. the internal drinking motives of Coping and Enhancement), after controlling for the influences of alternative drinking motives. Enhancement Motives were predicted by high Extraversion and low Conscientiousness, and Coping Motives by high Neuroticism. Supplementary correlational analyses involving certain personality facet scores revealed that the depression and self-consciousness facets of the Neuroticism domain were positively correlated with residual Coping and Conformity Motives, respectively, and that the excitement-seeking and gregariousness facets of the Extraversion domain were positively correlated with residual Enhancement and Social Motives, respectively. These results provide further validation of Cox and Klinger’s 2×2 (valence [positive vs negative reinforcement]×source [internal vs external]) model of drinking motivations, and confirm previous speculations that drinking motives are distinguishable on the basis of personality domains and facets. Understanding the relations between personality and drinking motives may prove useful in identifying young drinkers whose drinking motivations may portend the development of heavy and/or problem drinking.
BACKGROUND: Trait optimism (positive future expectations) and cynical, hostile attitudes toward others have not been studied together in relation to incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and mortality in postmenopausal women.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Participants were 97 253 women (89 259 white, 7994 black) from the Women's Health Initiative who were free of cancer and cardiovascular disease at study entry. Optimism was assessed by the Life Orientation Test-Revised and cynical hostility by the cynicism subscale of the Cook Medley Questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard models produced adjusted hazard ratios (AHRs) for incident CHD (myocardial infarction, angina, percutaneous coronary angioplasty, or coronary artery bypass surgery) and total mortality (CHD, cardiovascular disease, or cancer related) over approximately 8 years. Optimists (top versus bottom quartile ["pessimists"]) had lower age-adjusted rates (per 10 000) of CHD (43 versus 60) and total mortality (46 versus 63). The most cynical, hostile women (top versus bottom quartile) had higher rates of CHD (56 versus 44) and total mortality (63 versus 46). Optimists (versus pessimists) had a lower hazard of CHD (AHR 0.91, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.99), CHD-related mortality (AHR 0.70, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.90), cancer-related mortality (blacks only; AHR 0.56, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.88), and total mortality (AHR 0.86, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.93). Most (versus least) cynical, hostile women had a higher hazard of cancer-related mortality (AHR 1.23, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.40) and total mortality (AHR 1.16, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.27; this effect was pronounced in blacks). Effects of optimism and cynical hostility were independent.
CONCLUSIONS: Optimism and cynical hostility are independently associated with important health outcomes in black and white women. Future research should examine whether interventions designed to change attitudes would lead to altered risk.
Four clinical interview questions, the CAGE questions, have proved useful in helping to make a diagnosis of alcoholism. The questions focus on Cutting down, Annoyance by criticism, Guilty feeling, and Eye-openers. The acronym "CAGE" helps the physician to recall the questions.How these questions were identified and their use in clinical and research studies are described.(JAMA 1984;252:1905-1907)
Positive and negative religious coping strategies and their relation with posttraumatic stress (PTS), psychological distress, and posttraumatic growth (PTG) were examined in the context of Hurricane Katrina. Positive religious coping was hypothesized to be associated with PTG, whereas negative religious coping was hypothesized to be associated with PTS and psychological distress. Low-income mothers (N = 386, mean age = 25.4 years, SD = 4.43) were surveyed before, and 1 and 4 years after the storm. Results from structural regression modeling indicated that negative religious coping was associated with psychological distress, but not PTS. Positive religious coping was associated with PTG. Further analysis indicated significant indirect effects of pre- and postdisaster religiousness on postdisaster PTG through positive religious coping. Findings underscore the positive and negative effect of religious variables in the context of a natural disaster.
標題：孩童面對家長離世的HPA軸功能與心理及環境因素的關鍵：初步研究結果
撮要：本文檢視孩童喪親後HPA軸功能(包括皮質醇睡醒反應；CAR) 與心理困擾、應對、和另一尚存家長的悲傷反應之間的關係。樣本包括38名孩童(20名女童曾在過去6個月有家長離世)和28名尚存的孩童家長(23名女性)，他們會接受自我答問工具和半結構面談，而面談包括討論孩童對喪親的想法及感受，面談後連續三日，受訪者會提供3個在家唾液樣本(睡醒時，30分鐘後和黃昏時)。結果顯示孩童第1天CAR減退與更多焦慮症狀(r= -.45) 、 抑鬱症狀(r= -.40) 、 創傷後壓力症狀(r= -.45) 、不適應哀悼症狀(r= -.43) 和迴避性應對水平(r= -.53)有顯著關連。家長的更高不適應哀悼水平(r= -.47) 亦與孩童第1天CAR減退有關連。這些數據突出了減弱的CAR可能是累積穩態負荷和(又或)情緒上刺激的事件(與死者相關的討論)，及在家庭中相關的後續處理(或缺少處理)而導致的。這些可能對喪親兒童(已經歷高度心理困擾、迴避應對和家長的不適應哀悼)來說已是特別壓力。
标题：孩童面对家长离世的HPA轴功能与心理及环境因素的关键：初步研究结果
撮要：本文检视孩童丧亲后HPA轴功能(包括皮质醇睡醒反应；CAR) 与心理困扰、应对、和另一尚存家长的悲伤反应之间的关系。样本包括38名孩童(20名女童曾在过去6个月有家长离世)和28名尚存的孩童家长(23名女性)，他们会接受自我答问工具和半结构面谈，而面谈包括讨论孩童对丧亲的想法及感受，面谈后连续三日，受访者会提供3个在家唾液样本(睡醒时，30分钟后和黄昏时)。结果显示孩童第1天CAR减退与更多焦虑症状(r= -.45) 、 抑郁症状(r= -.40) 、 创伤后压力症状(r= -.45) 、不适应哀悼症状(r= -.43) 和回避性应对水平(r= -.53)有显著关连。家长的更高不适应哀悼水平(r= -.47) 亦与孩童第1天CAR减退有关连。这些数据突出了减弱的CAR可能是累积稳态负荷和(又或)情绪上刺激的事件(与死者相关的讨论)，及在家庭中相关的后续处理(或缺少处理)而导致的。这些可能对丧亲儿童(已经历高度心理困扰、回避应对和家长的不适应哀悼)来说已是特别压力。
Recent research on domestic violence has sought to provide insight into the psychological consequences of such violence. A conceptual framework, which suggests that both situational and person-centered factors contribute to adjustment to violence and affect a woman's personal and social resources, was formulated to examine the impact of stress, personal resources, social support, institutional responsiveness, and coping upon the psychological health of battered women. Women (N=60) completed questionnaires within a week of their arrival at a shelter for battered women. Analyses of results indicated that increased levels of violence, minimal personal resources, lack of institutional and informal social support, and greater avoidant coping styles were related to lowered self-esteem and more severe depressive symptoms. The results suggest that stress, level of violence, and personal resources may have indirect effects upon functioning through their impact on coping responses and the availability of social support. The findings also suggest that women with fewer social contacts unaccompanied by their partner are less likely to receive supportive responses from friends. (PAS)
Hopes for successful dating for the year ahead, the actual state of romantic friendships, and preferred leisure contexts were assessed for a German sample of male and female students in early and middle adolescence. Data were collected twice, with a 1-year time interval. Using confirmatory prediction analyses, hypotheses concerning the association between transition to dating and change in preferred leisure contexts were tested. Novices in dating were expected to prefer home and neutral settings throughout the year or to change to public, development-enhancing places by the second time of measurement. More experienced adolescents were expected to prefer public, development-enhancing places throughout the year or to fall back on home and neutral settings. Results showed that frustrated hopes for romantic friendship led to a retreat from public contexts. A desire for romantic friendship increased the use ofpublic contexts where one could meet members of the other sex. The use of public settings reflects adolescents' attempts to gain control over friendship development.