Addressing the SUD training gap: Two pilot feasibility studies in the Department of Veteran's Affairs Health Care System.

Introduction: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are an ongoing public health crisis in the United States. A large body of research indicates an urgent need for increased training in SUD research and treatment for trainees in mental health service disciplines. The VA Health Care System is well positioned, as the largest trainer and employer of health service psychologists and other mental health professionals, to address the SUD training gap and serve as a leader in training the upcoming health care workforce.

Substance Use and Childhood Sexual Abuse among Girls Who Are Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation.

Girls who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC) have high rates of substance use and childhood sexual abuse. We compared girls who are victims of CSEC and matched controls on childhood sexual abuse and substance use, and examined if substance use is associated with increased CSEC odds. Data were retrospectively collected from assessments completed by 80 girls who were referred by the Department of Child Services (Mage=15.

An Experimental Test of the Relationship between Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Use and Alcohol Consumption.

Background: Increasing research shows that the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) is associated with a higher rate and quantity of alcohol consumption.

Methods: The present study used a 2-session, within-subjects design to experimentally examine the relationship between ENDS use and laboratory ad libitum alcohol consumption. A total of N = 31 (mean age = 28.

Electronic nicotine delivery system use is related to higher odds of alcohol and marijuana use in adolescents: Meta-analytic evidence.

Research suggests that electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) use is associated with other substance use in adolescents; however, the magnitude of this association and whether this differs between adolescents and adults is not yet well understood. This meta-analysis aimed to quantify the extent to which ENDS use is associated with alcohol and marijuana use among adolescents and to compare the odds across adolescent samples and a comparison group of adult samples. A comprehensive literature review was conducted examining the relationship between ENDS use and alcohol (adolescent k = 40 from 19 independent studies; adult k = 35 from 12 independent studies) and marijuana (adolescent k = 24 from 14 independent studies; adult k = 6 from 3 independent studies) use.

Family and Peer Influences on Substance Attitudes and Use among Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth.

Juvenile justice-involved youth experience high rates of substance use, which is concerning given associated negative consequences, including health and functional deficits. Family and peer factors are associated with a high risk of substance use among justice-involved youth. It is hypothesized that this risk process operates through pro-drug attitudes.

Behavioral Health Service Utilization Among Detained Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis of Prevalence and Potential Moderators.

Purpose: Utilization of behavioral health treatment services among adolescents who have been detained or incarcerated within the juvenile justice system is poorly understood, with estimated utilization rates varying widely across studies. This meta-analysis was conducted to review and synthesize the literature on the prevalence of service utilization among this population.

Methods: Data from 27 studies of 28 distinct samples were abstracted and coded.

Poly-use of cannabis and other substances among juvenile-justice involved youth: variations in psychological and substance-related problems by typology.

Background: Adolescent cannabis use is associated with increased risk for psychological problems, with evidence for more severe problems among youth who use cannabis in combination with other substances (i.e., polysubstance use).

The relationship among depressive symptoms, urgency, and problematic alcohol and cannabis use in community adults.

Background: This study examined alternative models for how negative and positive urgency influence the relationship between depressive symptoms and alcohol and cannabis use in a community sample.

Methods: Participants included adults (n = 675; age = 42.57, SD = 15.

The Theory of Planned Behavior and E-cig Use: Impulsive Personality, E-cig Attitudes, and E-cig Use.

The current paper applied the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1988) to understand how impulsive personality traits and attitudes concerning e-cig use relate to the likelihood of electronic cigarette (e-cig) use. Seven hundred and fourteen participants (Mean age = 34.04, SD = 10.

Recommendations for applying a multi-dimensional model of impulsive personality to diagnosis and treatment.

The UPPS-P Model of Impulsive Personality, a prominent model of impulsive personality derived from the Five Factor Model of Personality, is a multi-dimensional model of impulsive personality that consists of negative urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseveration, sensation seeking, and positive urgency. The UPPS-P model has highlighted the importance of separating multidimensional traits due to the specificity of these traits corresponding to different risk behaviors. The goal of the current review paper is to make recommendations on how to apply the UPPS-P Model of Impulsive Personality, to diagnosis of and treatment for psychopathology.

Predicting running away in girls who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

Youth that are victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) have a host of clinical problems and often run away from home, residential care, and treatment, which complicates and limits treatment effectiveness. No research to date has attempted to predict running away in CSEC victims. The present study aimed to 1) characterize a clinically referred sample of girls who were victims of CSEC and compare them to other high-risk girls (i.

PTSD Symptoms Mediate the Relationship Between Sexual Abuse and Substance Use Risk in Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth.

Juvenile justice-involved youth face disproportionate rates of sexual abuse, which increases the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs), both of which are associated with poor long-term outcomes. The present study tested two mediation and moderation models, controlling for age, race, and history of physical abuse, with gender as a moderator, to determine whether PTSD symptoms serve as a risk factor and/or mechanism in the relationship between sexual abuse and substance use. Data were examined for 197 juvenile justice-involved youth (mean age = 15.

Conduct Disorder Symptoms and Illicit Drug Use in Juvenile Justice Involved Youth: The Reciprocal Relationship Between Positive Illicit Drug-Use Attitudes and Illicit Drug Use.

Conduct disorder (CD) symptoms cooccur at high rates with illicit drug use in juvenile justice involved youth, which results in poorer outcomes; however, research has not identified where best to intervene in this relationship, limiting the identification of modifiable risk factors to reduce negative effects of CD symptoms. Two mediation models were examined to investigate the potential for CD symptoms to influence a reciprocal relationship between illicit drug use and positive drug attitudes, controlling for age, gender, and race. Data were examined for 245 juvenile justice involved youth (mean age = 15.

"Essentially, All Models are Wrong, but Some Are Useful": A Preliminary Conceptual Model Of Co-Occurring E-Cig and Alcohol Use.

Purpose Of Review: As prevalence rates of electronic cigarette (e-cig) use increase, researchers and clinicians should not only be paying careful attention to the direct health effects of e-cigs, but also the potential impact e-cigs may have on alcohol use behaviors. We review the current state of the literature and propose a conceptual model for the relationship between e-cig and alcohol use, including important consequences, mechanisms, and moderators of this relationship.

Recent Findings: The model is based in emerging literature examining the direct relationship between e-cig and alcohol use, as well as indirect evidence concerning potential mechanisms from research on cigarette and alcohol use.

The relationship between the UPPS-P impulsive personality traits and substance use psychotherapy outcomes: A meta-analysis.

Background: Although impulsive personality traits have been well implicated in substance use disorder (SUD) risk, little work has established how specific impulsive personality traits influence and are influenced by SUD psychotherapy outcomes. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to quantitatively review existing work to examine 1) how impulsive personality traits affect SUD psychotherapy outcomes and 2) reductions in impulsive personality traits during SUD psychotherapy.

Methods: Studies were identified by conducting a comprehensive review of the literature.

Beliefs About the Direct Comparison of E-Cigarettes and Cigarettes.

Background: Recent data suggests that positive beliefs about electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) use can lead to later e-cig use. Considering that many advertisements claim that e-cigs are superior to cigarettes, individuals' likelihood to view e-cigs more favorably than cigarettes can also influence subsequent e-cig use; however, no studies have directly assessed such a comparison.

Objectives: The present study created and validated the Comparing E-Cigarettes and Cigarettes questionnaire (CEAC), which asks individuals to directly compare e-cigs and cigarettes on a number of dimensions, in two independent samples.

Prohibition of e-cigarettes in the US: Are prohibitions where alcohol is consumed related to lower alcohol consumption?

Recently, research has suggested negative consequences related to electronic cigarette (e-cig) use, including the increased risk for alcohol use and abuse. Previous work found that cigarette smoking ban legislation lowered overall smoking and alcohol use rates; however, researchers have not yet examined the potential effects of prohibiting e-cig use. The present study surveyed 617 individuals from a community-based online sample in the US (mean age = 33.

UPPS-P model impulsivity and marijuana use behaviors in adolescents: A meta-analysis.

Background: Impulsivity is often included as a risk factor in models of adolescent marijuana use behaviors; however, the magnitude of the association between impulsivity and marijuana use behaviors is variable across studies. The present study reviewed existent literature to 1) quantify the relationship between separable impulsivity-related traits and both marijuana use and negative marijuana consequences and 2) quantify the size of the effect of gender on these relationships.

Method: Thirty-eight studies (41 independent samples) were meta-analyzed using a random effects model to examine the relationship between impulsivity traits and marijuana use behaviors.

Transitioning From Cigarettes to Electronic Cigarettes Increases Alcohol Consumption.

Objective: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are a nicotine delivery device that have recently been linked to alcohol use. Many individuals that smoke cigarettes transition to e-cigs as an alternative to cigarette use, despite potential negative health effects of e-cigs. No research to date has examined how former smokers that have transitioned to e-cigs differ from former smokers that do not use e-cigs, particularly in relation to alcohol use.

Social support as a buffer between discrimination and cigarette use in juvenile offenders.

Cigarette use is a prominent problem in juvenile offenders, leading to negative health outcomes and substance use. One interesting precipitator of cigarette use in this population is discrimination. Social support could potentially buffer the positive relationship between cigarette use and discrimination in juvenile offenders, which could be dependent on the context in which the discrimination is experienced, such as peer, institutional (e.

Combined expectancies of alcohol and e-cigarette use relate to higher alcohol use.

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) were created to approximate the look, feel, and experience of using a cigarette. Since cigarette and alcohol use co-occur, we hypothesized that e-cig and alcohol use also co-occur, likely due to shared positive drug expectations. Using self-report data from two independent samples of community-dwelling alcohol using adults, the present study: (1) modified the Nicotine and Other Substance Interaction Expectancy Questionnaire (NOSIE) to assess expectancies of combined e-cig and alcohol use (i.