Psychometric validation of the Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool: Alcohol use disorder module.

Aims: Structured clinical interviewing is considered the gold standard in psychiatric diagnosis. The Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool (DART) is a novel modularized, non-copywritten, semi-structured interview; however, no studies have examined the psychometric properties of its alcohol use disorder (AUD) module. The primary aims of this study were to: (i) validate the factor structure of the DART AUD module and (ii) examine measurement invariance across several key demographic and subgroup factors.

A high-resolution PheWAS approach to alcohol-related polygenic risk scores reveals mechanistic influences of alcohol reinforcing value and drinking motives.

Aims: This study uses a high-resolution phenome-wide approach to evaluate the motivational mechanisms of polygenic risk scores (PRSs) that have been robustly associated with coarse alcohol phenotypes in large-scale studies.

Methods: In a community-based sample of 1534 Europeans, we examined genome-wide PRSs for the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), drinks per week, alcohol use disorder (AUD), problematic alcohol use (PAU), and general addiction, in relation to 42 curated phenotypes. The curated phenotypes were in seven categories: alcohol consumption, alcohol reinforcing value, drinking motives, other addictive behaviors, commonly comorbid psychiatric syndromes, impulsivity, and personality traits.

High-resolution examination of changes in drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic: Nine-wave findings from a longitudinal observational cohort study of community adults.

Few multi-wave longitudinal studies have examined changes in drinking across extended periods of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Using multiple indicators over three years, the current study examined: a) overall drinking changes; b) sex, income, age, and pre-COVID drinking level as moderators of changes; and c) the clinical significance of the observed changes. Using a longitudinal observational cohort design with nonclinical adults from the general community (N = 1395), assessments were collected over nine waves, two pre-COVID (April 2019 and October 2019) and seven intra-COVID (April 2020-April 2022).

Leveraging related health phenotypes for polygenic prediction of impulsive choice, impulsive action, and impulsive personality traits in 1534 European ancestry community adults.

Impulsivity refers to a number of conceptually related phenotypes reflecting self-regulatory capacity that are considered promising endophenotypes for mental and physical health. Measures of impulsivity can be broadly grouped into three domains, namely, impulsive choice, impulsive action, and impulsive personality traits. In a community-based sample of ancestral Europeans (n = 1534), we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of impulsive choice (delay discounting), impulsive action (behavioral inhibition), and impulsive personality traits (UPPS-P), and evaluated 11 polygenic risk scores (PRSs) of phenotypes previously linked to self-regulation.

The Clinical Relevance of Impulsivity in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Examining Within-Treatment Changes and Relationship to Psychiatric Symptoms and Cravings in a Large Inpatient Sample.

Objective: Impulsivity is a multidimensional construct consistently associated with problematic substance use, but less is known about its relevance to clinical outcomes. The current study examined whether impulsivity changed over the course of addiction treatment and whether the changes were associated with changes in other clinical outcomes.

Method: Participants were patients in a large inpatient addiction medicine program ( = 817; 71.

Impacts of the COVID-19 public health restrictions on substance use, mental health, and psychosocial functioning among individuals with alcohol use disorder.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with major psychosocial disruptions and there is particular concern for individuals with substance use disorders. This study characterized the psychosocial and experiential impacts of the pandemic on individuals seeking alcohol use disorder (AUD) recovery, including pandemic impacts on self-reported drinking, heavy drinking, tobacco, cannabis, and stimulant use. Participants were 125 AUD+ individuals (% males: 57.

Public health guideline compliance and perceived government effectiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: Findings from a longitudinal cohort study.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has imposed enormous adversity worldwide. Public health guidelines have been a first line of defense but rely on compliance with evolving recommendations and restrictions. This study sought to characterize adherence to and perceptions of public health guidelines over a one-year timeframe during the pandemic.

COVID-19 Vaccine Perceptions and Differences by Sex, Age, and Education in 1,367 Community Adults in Ontario.

COVID-19 is a global pandemic and vaccination efforts may be impeded by vaccine hesitancy. The present study examined willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the associated reasons for willingness/unwillingness, and vaccine safety perceptions in a cross-sectional assessment of community adults in Ontario. One thousand three hundred sixty seven individuals (60.

Psychometric Validation of the Brief Alcohol Social Density Assessment in an Adult Community Sample.

Background: Individuals' social networks exert a strong influence on alcohol use, but valid assessment of network drinking behavior is typically lengthy and high in participant burden. The aim of this study was to validate the Brief Alcohol Social Density Assessment (BASDA), an efficient measure of perceived alcohol use within a person's social network, in a sample of adult drinkers from the general community. Specifically, the convergent, criterion-related, incremental validity and internal validity were investigated by examining the BASDA in relation to other established measures of drinking motives, weekly drinking level, and severity of involvement.