Day-level associations among alcohol use, simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use, and both regretted and positive romantic/sexual experiences.

Background: Young adults who drink heavily, including those who simultaneously use cannabis, experience both positive and regretted romantic/sexual experiences. Both gender and past sexual assault severity may also play a role in the valence of romantic/sexual experiences. The current study focuses on day-level correlates of romantic/sexual experiences, assessing whether: (1) number of drinks or simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use (vs.

Qualitative interviews with young adults at risk for psychosis and who use Cannabis: Informing the development of a mobile intervention.

Cannabis use disorder is common among young adults in psychiatric care, particularly those at risk for psychosis. Yet, interventions tailored to address this issue are limited. The goal of this qualitative study was to determine barriers and facilitators for reducing/quitting cannabis use, and to obtain end-user perspectives to inform a mobile app-based intervention.

Insomnia treatment effects on negative emotionality among veterans in treatment for alcohol use disorder.

Background: Insomnia symptoms are pervasive and persistent in alcohol use disorder (AUD), though little is known about the mechanisms that underlie this association. We previously found that cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) reduced alcohol-related problems among veterans by improving insomnia severity (NCT03806491). In this planned secondary analysis of the same clinical trial data, we tested negative emotionality as one potential mechanism to explain this effect.

Feeling in control in sexual situations: Day-level associations with alcohol use and alcohol protective behavioral strategies.

Background: Feeling in control in a sexual situation may vary as a function of contextual factors, such as whether alcohol is used prior to a sexual experience. Alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) reduce adverse alcohol-related outcomes and may promote greater sense of control in sexual situations. It was hypothesized that, at the day level, (1) greater alcohol use would be associated with lower likelihood of feeling in control in sexual situations, (2) more PBS would be associated with a greater likelihood of feeling in control, and (3) more PBS would weaken the negative association between alcohol use and sexual control.

Prior Sexual Aggression as a Moderator of an Integrated Alcohol and Sexual Assault Prevention Program for Heavy Drinking College Men: A Brief Report.

Objective: Sexual aggression and heavy drinking are interrelated concerns among college men. As a result, integrated prevention interventions now exist to address co-occurring risk for sexual aggression and heavy drinking. The Sexual Assault and Alcohol Feedback and Education (SAFE) program is a multi-session integrated alcohol and sexual assault prevention program for college men that addresses alcohol use, sexual activity, social norms, alcohol-related sexual consequences, understanding of consent, and engagement in bystander intervention.

Alcohol Feedback, Reflection, and Morning Evaluation (A-FRAME): Refining and testing feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone-delivered alcohol intervention for heavy-drinking young adults.

Background: Young adults drink heavily and experience negative alcohol consequences. To capitalize on mornings after drinking as an optimal time to intervene, we developed a novel, theory-based personalized feedback intervention (PFI) called Alcohol Feedback, Reflection, and Morning Evaluation (A-FRAME), to reduce heavy drinking. An initial prototype was refined via feedback from college students who drink heavily.

Associations between posting about alcohol on social networking sites and alcohol-induced blackouts in a sample of young adults not in 4-year college.

Objective: Research among young adults (YA), in samples of majority White college students, indicates links between posting about alcohol on social media and self-reported drinking behavior. We sought to extend this work by examining unique associations between public versus private posting about alcohol and the high-risk outcome of alcohol-related blackouts among a sample of racially/ethnically diverse YA not in 4-year college.

Method: A sample of 499 participants (ages 18-29; 52.

Utility of a brief measure of cannabis demand: Day-level associations with cannabis use.

Background: Cannabis demand (i.e., relative value) is usually assessed as a trait-level risk-factor for cannabis use and consequences.

A confirmatory factor analysis of a revised motives for playing drinking games (MPDG-33) scale among university students in the United States.

Aim: Participating in a drinking game (DG) is common practice among university students and can increase students' risk for heavy drinking. Given the theoretical link between motivations to drink and alcohol use, careful consideration should be given to students' motivations to play DGs. In this study, we examined the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of a revised version of the motives for playing drinking games (MPDG) scale, the MPDG-33.

Do hypothetical evaluations of alcohol related consequences change over time? Examining the influence of past and ongoing consequences.

Objective: Despite experiencing alcohol-related consequences, college students continue to drink at high rates. Hypothetical evaluations of alcohol-related consequences (i.e.

Associations among sexual assault history, alcohol use, blackouts, and blackout intentions among college women.

Links between alcohol-induced blackouts and sexual assault (SA) are understudied. We tested whether: (1) history of blackouts, past 30-day blackouts, and past 30-day blackout intentions would be higher among women with histories of SA relative to women without; (2) baseline history of blackouts, past 30-day blackouts, and blackout intentions would predict an increase in SA severity (i.e.

Comparing Drinking Game Motives, Behaviors, and Consequences Among Varsity Athletes, Recreational Athletes, and Non-Student-Athletes: A Multisite University Study.

Objective: Among college students, student-athletes are at increased risk for heavy alcohol consumption, participation in risky drinking practices (e.g., playing drinking games [DG]), and adverse alcohol-related consequences relative to non-student-athletes.

Measuring Exposure to the Hazardous Drinking of Others and Perceived Opportunity to Intervene as a Bystander.

Objective: Excessive alcohol use is very prevalent among young adults, and consequences of drinking are often observed by witnesses. Understanding the circumstances under which witnesses of risky alcohol use help others and whether they perceive these circumstances as an opportunity to engage in bystander intervention are important, but valid measures of these constructs are needed. The current study is a psychometric evaluation of the Exposure to Hazardous Drinking in Others (EHDO) scale and a single-item indicator of Perceived Alcohol-Related Bystander Opportunity (PARBO).

Integrated Alcohol Use and Sexual Assault Prevention Program for College Men Who Engage in Heavy Drinking: Randomized Pilot Study.

Background: Sexual assault is prevalent on college campuses and most commonly is perpetrated by men. Problematically, there is a dearth of evidence-based prevention programs targeting men as perpetrators of sexual aggression. The Sexual Assault and Alcohol Feedback and Education (SAFE) program is an integrated alcohol and sexual assault prevention intervention for college men who engage in heavy drinking that aims to address sexual aggression proclivity and alcohol use outcomes by incorporating social norms theory, bystander intervention, and motivational interviewing.

Characterizing Alcohol Consumption and Positive and Negative Consequences During Simultaneous Alcohol and Cannabis Use Events.

Objective: Young adults who engage in simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use report heavy use of both substances. Event-level studies examining differences between consequences experienced on simultaneous use compared with single substance use days have been mixed. Although studies often control for alcohol use levels, few have examined how quantity of alcohol may influence consequences experienced on simultaneous use days.

Subjective evaluations of alcohol-involved sexual experiences over time among heavy-drinking college students: Comparisons across gender.

The current study described how positive sexual experiences impact hypothetical subjective evaluations at follow up relative to baseline. Eighty-eight college students who engaged in weekly heavy episodic drinking participated. At baseline, participants reported alcohol use and hypothetical evaluations of alcohol-involved sexual experiences.

A qualitative analysis of adolescents' perspectives on peer and influencer alcohol-related posts on social media.

Introduction: Adolescent exposure to alcohol-related content on social media is common and associated with alcohol use and perceived norms; however, little is known about how exposure differs by the source of the content (e.g., peer or 'influencer').

A national study on pregaming motives, frequency, consumption, and negative alcohol consequences among university students in the United States.

Background: Pregaming, or drinking before going out, is a commonly practiced risky behavior. Drinking motives are well-established predictors of alcohol use and negative alcohol consequences. Given the influence of context on drinking practices, motives specific to pregaming may affect pregaming behaviors and outcomes above and beyond general drinking motives.

Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia on Alcohol Treatment Outcomes Among US Veterans: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Three of 4 adults in treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) report symptoms of insomnia. Yet the first-line treatment for insomnia (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, CBT-I) is often delayed until abstinence is established.

Objective: To test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of CBT-I among veterans early in their AUD treatment and to examine improvement in insomnia as a mechanism for improvement in alcohol use outcomes.