How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Addiction Services? A Study of the Different Periods of the Pandemic and Patient Treatment Follow-up Over 1 Year.

Background: Various studies have provided evidence of the impact of COVID-19 and the measures adopted by governments on drug use and its treatment. After 4 years, a more precise assessment of the evolution of patients and addiction treatment services can be made. The objective of this study is to compare different periods during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify changes in patient profiles and the care activity of addiction treatment centres.

The protection motivation theory as an explanatory model for intention to use alcohol protective behavioral strategies related to the manner of drinking among young adults.

Aims: This study aimed to prospectively examine the explanatory value of the protection motivation theory (PMT) for the intention to use manner of drinking protective behavioral strategies (MD PBS) and to explore its invariance across genders.

Method: A targeted sampling procedure was used to recruit 339 young adults in the community (Mage = 21.1; SD = 2.

Analyzing Dropout in Alcohol Recovery Programs: A Machine Learning Approach.

: Retention in treatment is crucial for the success of interventions targeting alcohol use disorder (AUD), which affects over 100 million people globally. Most previous studies have used classical statistical techniques to predict treatment dropout, and their results remain inconclusive. This study aimed to use novel machine learning tools to identify models that predict dropout with greater precision, enabling the development of better retention strategies for those at higher risk.

Discriminative capacity of the Spanish version of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II (IDAS-II) for detecting DMS-5 specific disorders and poor quality of life in a clinical sample.

Background: Emotional problems can be evaluated using categorical approaches to guide treatment choices focused on targeting specific disorders, or dimensional approaches to reduce symptom severity. Moreover, recent evidence points out the need to intervene in patients' quality of life (QoL), which often remains low even after the remission of emotional problems. Thus, assessment instruments are needed to provide information on diagnosis, symptom severity, and QoL.

Comparison of Different Sexual Behaviors According to Sexual Orientation and the Mediating Role of Attitudes toward Sexual Behaviors between Sexual Orientation and Sexual Behaviors in Young Adults.

Objectives: To explore the relationship between sexual orientation and specific sexual and risk behaviors, compare the number of sexual behaviors and attitudes among people of different sexual orientations, and test the mediating effect of attitudes toward sexual behaviors in the relationship between sexual orientation and the number of sexual behaviors.

Methods: A total of 2288 participants completed a checklist of sexual behaviors, indicators of sexual risk behaviors, and a scale of attitudes toward sexual behaviors.

Results: Bisexual women engaged in a greater number of sexual behaviors and had more positive attitudes toward sexual behaviors than heterosexual women.

Can personality disorder be accurately assessed in older age? A differential item functioning analysis of ICD-11 inventories.

Objectives: The contested categorical personality disorder (PD) criteria are not well suited to inform PD diagnoses in older adults. Yet, the classification of PDs is undergoing a critical transition phase with a paradigm shift to a dimensional approach for diagnosing PDs. No special attention was given to the expression of PDs in older age when the dimensional ICD-11 model was developed.

Modeling the Therapeutic Process of Patients with Cocaine Use Disorders: A Guide for Predicting Readmission.

Introduction: Patients with cocaine use disorders have very high readmission rates. Our aim was to model the relationships between attributes of patients with cocaine use disorder at the beginning of treatment, therapeutic process indicators of time in treatment or proportion of appointments attended, and treatment outcomes, including outcomes at discharge and non-readmissions posttreatment as indicators of therapeutic success.

Method: A retrospective observational design was used with 10,298 cocaine use disorder patients.

Operational definitions and measurement of externalizing behavior problems: An integrative review including research models and clinical diagnostic systems.

Measurement of externalizing disorders such as antisocial disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or borderline disorder have relevant implications for the daily lives of people with these disorders. While the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) have provided the diagnostic framework for decades, recent dimensional frameworks question the categorical approach of psychopathology, inherent in traditional nosotaxies. Tests and instruments develop under the DSM or ICD framework preferentially adopt this categorical approach, providing diagnostic labels.

Differentiation of Self and Interpersonal Functioning with the Level of Personality Functioning Scale - Brief Form 2.0.

Research on Criterion A of the alternative model for personality disorders is recently expanding and provides mixed results concerning the unidimensional operational definition of severity by the model, characterized by impaired self (identity and self-direction) and interpersonal (empathy and intimacy) functioning. Studies resulted in one, as well as two or more factor structures. The present study demonstrated the importance of the structural and relational differentiation of self and interpersonal dimensions of personality functioning.

Monitoring adherence and abstinence of cannabis use disorder patients: Profile identification and relationship with long-term treatment outcomes.

Background: Patients with cannabis use disorder (CUD) show heterogeneous sociodemographic and consumption patterns. Although previous studies, focused on identifying subgroups of CUD patients using input variables, have yielded useful results for planning individualized treatments, no published research has analyzed the profiles of CUD patients according to their therapeutic progress. This study therefore aims to identify subgroups of patients using adherence and abstinence indicators and to explore whether these profiles are associated with sociodemographic characteristics, consumption variables, and long-term therapeutic outcomes.

Comparison of Emotional Processing Between Patients with Substance Use Disorder and Those with Dual Diagnosis: Relationship with Severity of Dependence and Use During Treatment.

This study analyzed, in a Spanish sample, the differences in emotional processing in patients diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD) and patients with a dual diagnosis (DD), and tested whether alterations in emotional regulation were related to the severity of dependence and consumption during treatment. A descriptive follow-up study was conducted with 88 adult outpatients (83% men) who were receiving treatment for alcohol and cocaine SUD. Of the sample, 43.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish adaptation of the Externalizing Spectrum Inventory-Brief Form (ESI-BF).

The Externalizing Spectrum Inventory-Brief Form (ESI-BF) measures tendencies toward disinhibition, lack of control, aggression, and substance use. This study adapts the ESI-BF to the Spanish population and assesses its psychometric properties. The study included 742 community adults obtained by stratified random sampling with proportional allocation according to gender, age, and geographical area of the Spanish territory and a clinical sample consisting of 333 patients.

Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies in Young Spanish Adults in the Community: A Prospective Study of Perceived Efficacy and Social Norms.

Background: Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have been shown to be useful for reducing excessive alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. However, research on the explanatory factors of PBS is limited. This paper prospectively examines the contribution of perceived efficacy of PBS in reducing alcohol-related consequences and perceived descriptive norms of close peers´ PBS use in young adults.

Harm Reduction Strategies among University Students Who Use Alcohol and Cannabis, and Related Psychological Variables: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review identifies the psychological variables associated with the use of harm reduction strategies (HRS) among university students who use alcohol or cannabis. The reviewed studies are categorized according to the psychological variables studied and the different analytic approaches used (direct effects, mediation, and moderation). Among the empirical peer-reviewed studies identified (n = 76), most (94.

A longitudinal study among young adults into the predictive effect of perceived efficacy of behavioural strategies and the moderating role of drinking motives on use of protective behavioural strategies.

Introduction: Although protective behavioural strategies (PBS) have shown to be effective in minimising alcohol-related negative consequences, research on the explanatory factors of their use is very scarce. Perceived efficacy has been demonstrated to be one of the most relevant explanatory factors in the use of health-related protective behaviours. The present study prospectively examines the relationship between the perceived efficacy of PBS in reducing alcohol-related negative consequences and the use of PBS in a community-based sample of young adults.

Changes in Drug-Related Implicit Associations during Substance Use Disorder Treatment: The Role of the Therapeutic Context.

Background: Implicit cognition has been linked to relapse in substance use disorder (SUD). Studies on attentional bias have found different outcomes related to the therapeutic context, finding an association with relapse in inpatients but not in outpatients. There are no similar studies that use associations in semantic memory as a measure of implicit cognition.

Norms According to Age and Gender for the Spanish Version of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS-II).

Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II (IDAS-II) constitutes a useful measurement tool with demonstrated psychometric properties that is contributing to the advancement of knowledge of emotional disorders within transdiagnostic models. To implement its use in clinical settings it is important that the scores can be interpreted in order to guide clinical decisions. This study aims to develops normative data for the Spanish version of the IDAS-II.

Predictive Utility of Protective Behavioral Strategies for Alcohol-Related Outcomes in a Community Sample of Young Adults.

Objective: Although previous studies have shown that protective behavioral strategies (PBS) predict alcohol use and its related consequences in college students, it is not known whether a broader population of young adults also benefit from PBS use. We longitudinally examined the relationship between PBS use and alcohol-related outcomes in a community sample of young adults composed of college students and noncollege individuals.

Method: Targeted sampling was used to access 339 young adults in the community (mean age = 21.

Impact of Cluster B Personality Disorders in Drugs Therapeutic Community Treatment Outcomes: A Study Based on Real World Data.

Background: The impact of dual pathology on treatment outcomes is unclear, with the literature reporting both favorable and unfavorable evidence. The main aim of this study was to determine how dual pathology affects treatment outcomes using real world data obtained from inpatients that began treatment in therapeutic communities.

Method: The data of 2458 inpatients were used.

Coordinated treatment between addiction and mental health services vs. uncoordinated treatment for patients with dual diagnosis: higher dropout rates but lower impairement of functional disability.

Dual pathology is often found in addiction and mental health centers. Although there are integrated services for these patients, most countries have developed joint action protocols between addiction and mental health centers. The objective is to analyze the progress of patients diagnosed with dual pathology, comparing the therapeutic outcomes of those who exclusively attend either addiction or mental health centers with those patients who follow a program in which the two services are coordinated.

Personality Traits and Impulsivity Tasks Among Substance Use Disorder Patients: Their Relations and Links With Retention in Treatment.

Background: Various authors have described the elements of impulsive approach and inhibitory control in drug users. These two components have been studied in terms of personality traits, performance on tasks that measure impulsive behavior, and neurophysiology. However, few studies have analyzed the association between these constructs.

Impairments in Executive Functioning in Patients with Comorbid Substance Use and Personality Disorders: A Systematic Review.

The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the evidence for impaired executive functioning in patients diagnosed with a dual pathology of personality disorder (PD) and substance use disorder, and to identify whether differences exist in comparison to those with a single diagnosis. A systematic search was conducted to identify studies using measures of executive functioning in patients with PD-substance use disorder dual pathology. Sixteen studies were selected.

Spanish Adaptation of the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale-20 (S-PBSS-20) and Evaluation of its Psychometric Properties in University Students.

Background: Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have shown utility in reducing alcohol-related negative consequences. The Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale (PBSS) is one of the most widely used and well-validated instruments for evaluating these strategies. However, a Spanish adaptation of this or any other measure of PBS is not available.

Spanish Adaptation of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS-II) and a study of its psychometric properties.

Background: The Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS-II) is composed of 99 items organized into 18 specific scales that provides dimensional assessment of depression, anxiety and bipolar symptoms. To date, IDAS-II is only available in the English and Turkish population. The main purpose of this study is to adapt the IDAS-II to the Spanish population and to assess the psychometric properties.