Daily associations between sleep and alcohol use among veterans: Acute and cumulative effects.

Background And Aims: Military veterans demonstrate high rates of heavy drinking and insomnia, but few if any studies have tested real-world, daily associations between sleep and alcohol use within this population. Moreover, although daily diary and experimental studies among civilians have found negative associations between alcohol use and sleep, these patterns change with consecutive days of drinking and may differ for those with insomnia. This study measured (a) acute and cumulative day-level associations between sleep and alcohol use among heavy-drinking US veterans and (b) the extent to which insomnia moderates these associations.

Sleep quality and duration as predictors of alcohol and cannabis use motives in daily life.

Objective: Alcohol and cannabis are two of the most widely used substances in the United States, where sleep problems are also prominent. Although poor sleep is linked to substance use, little is known about how prior-night sleep contributes to next-day decisions to use substances in daily life. This study tested the impact of prior-night sleep duration and quality on momentary motives for alcohol (Aim 1) and cannabis use (Aim 2).

Examining Differences in Emotion Dysregulation Between Emerging Adult Alcohol-Only Users, Abstainers, and Simultaneous Users.

Objective: Simultaneous use of alcohol and cannabis is associated with more negative consequences than use of either substance alone. Research suggests that emotion dysregulation is linked to alcohol, cannabis, and polysubstance use. However, no previous research has examined whether emotion dysregulation scores differ among individuals without past month substance use (abstainers), individuals who report past-month alcohol use only (no past month cannabis or simultaneous use; alcohol-only users), and individuals who engage in past-month simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use (simultaneous users).

Does Social Support Moderate the Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Substance-Related Problems?

More than half of individuals in the United States have had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which can result in physical and mental distress. ACEs has been linked with greater likelihood of harmful alcohol and drug use. Research has found that protective factors, such as social support, may potentially buffer against harmful substance use engagement among those who have experienced ACEs.

Attention bias and alcohol craving: Differential effects via biological sex and mood.

Background: Attentional bias (AB) has been linked to alcohol use, mood, and alcohol craving, with key differences across different types of mood and biological sex. However, further exploration of the role of AB across these alcohol variables is needed. The current study examined the relationship between mood and AB as predictors of alcohol craving using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).