Introduction: Barriers to help-seeking for illicit drug use cross psychosocial (e.g., knowledge of where to seek help, attitudinal beliefs like being afraid of what people will think) and structural (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIssue Addressed: Substance use and mental illness remain critical issues for young Australians, however, engagement with evidence-based health resources is challenging among this age group. This study aimed to develop engaging, useful digital health resources, underpinned by neuroscience principles, to build awareness of the harms of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and concurrent alcohol and antidepressant use.
Methods: A mixed-methods approach was adopted to co-design two evidence-based videos resources.
Background And Aims: Alcohol use and anxiety often co-occur, causing increased severity impairment. This protocol describes a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that aims to test the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a web-based, self-guided alcohol and anxiety-focused program, compared with a web-based brief alcohol-focused program, for young adults who drink at hazardous levels and experience anxiety. It will also test moderators and mechanisms of change underlying the intervention effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Addressing aggressive behavior in adolescence is a key step toward preventing violence and associated social and economic costs in adulthood. This study examined the secondary effects of the personality-targeted substance use preventive program on aggressive behavior from ages 13 to 20.
Methods: In total, 339 young people from nine independent schools ( age = 13.
Objective: Being a mother of a young child may be protective against alcohol misuse for some, but not all, women. This is the first study to identify the mental health and psychosocial correlates of alcohol misuse among postpartum mothers.
Method: Mothers with a child younger than 12 months ( = 319) were recruited via social media to complete a cross-sectional online survey.
Background: This study evaluated the efficacy of the selective personality-targeted PreVenture program in reducing cannabis and stimulant use over a 7-year period spanning adolescence and early adulthood.
Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted in 14 Australian schools. Schools were randomized to PreVenture, a brief personality-targeted selective intervention, comprising two 90-minute facilitator-led sessions delivered one week apart, or a control group (health education as usual).
Purpose: Research is inconclusive with respect to the possible risk-increasing effect of anxiety symptoms on heavy drinking behavior among adolescents and young adults. Adult role transitions and changes in the social context from early adolescence into young adulthood may impact the association between anxiety symptoms and alcohol use.
Methods: The TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey, including 2,229 individuals at baseline, was used to evaluate the bi-directional and longitudinal associations between anxiety symptoms and alcohol use, using data at 14, 16, 19, 22, and 25 years of age.
Background: Exposure to childhood maltreatment increases the risk of mental health and substance use problems. Understanding the mechanisms linking maltreatment to these problems is critical for prevention.
Objective: To examine whether self-compassion and avoidant coping mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and mental ill-health and alcohol use.
Background: Interpretation bias modification (IBM) and approach bias modification (ApBM) cognitive retraining interventions can be efficacious adjunctive treatments for improving social anxiety and alcohol use problems. However, previous trials have not examined the combination of these interventions in a young, comorbid sample.
Objective: This study aims to describe the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a web-based IBM+ApBM program for young adults with social anxiety and hazardous alcohol use ("Re-Train Your Brain") when delivered in conjunction with treatment as usual (TAU).
Background: Parents play a critical role in delaying adolescent initiation of alcohol and other drug use. However, the majority of prevention programs focus on adolescents only. This study tested the acceptability and effectiveness of an eHealth universal program for students and parents to prevent adolescent alcohol use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anxiety and alcohol use commonly co-occur. Previous research has demonstrated the bidirectional and mutually reinforcing nature of this relationship, with an increasing body of research investigating the mediating and moderating mechanisms driving this association. Within the existing mediation and moderation research, however, there have been contrasting findings and, at times, null results among some population groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.pmedr.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Internalizing and externalizing personality traits are robust risk factors for substance use and mental health, and personality-targeted interventions are effective in preventing substance use and mental health problems in youth. However, there is limited evidence for how personality relates to other lifestyle risk factors, such as energy balance-related behaviors, and how this might inform prevention efforts.
Objective: This study aimed to examine concurrent cross-sectional associations between personality traits (ie, hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, and sensation seeking) and sleep, diet, physical activity (PA), and sedentary behaviors (SB), 4 of the leading risk factors for chronic disease, among emerging adults.
Background: Effective and scalable prevention approaches are urgently needed to address the rapidly increasing rates of e-cigarette use among adolescents. School-based eHealth interventions can be an efficient, effective, and economical approach, yet there are none targeting e-cigarettes within Australia. This paper describes the protocol of the OurFutures Vaping Trial which aims to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the first school-based eHealth intervention targeting e-cigarettes in Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Alcohol consumption is one of the leading preventable causes of burden of disease worldwide. Selective prevention of alcohol use can be effective in delaying the uptake and reducing harmful use of alcohol during the school years; however, little is known about the durability of these effects across the significant transition from early adolescence into late adolescence and early adulthood.
Objective: To examine the sustained effects of a selective personality-targeted alcohol use prevention program on alcohol outcomes among adolescents who report high levels of 1 of 4 personality traits associated with substance use.
Introduction: Adolescent onset substance use is associated with neurodevelopmental, social and psychological harms. Thus, alcohol and other drug prevention programmes are essential to promote health and well-being during this period. Schools are uniquely positioned to deliver such prevention programmes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To prevent adolescents from initiating alcohol and other drug use and reduce the associated harms, effective strategies need to be implemented. Despite their availability, effective school-based programs and evidence-informed parental guidelines are not consistently implemented. The Positive Choices alcohol and other drug prevention initiative and website was launched to address this research and practice gap.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraumatic events (severe injury, violence, threatened death) are commonly experienced by children. Such events are associated with a dose-response increasing risk of subsequent substance use, mental illness, chronic disease, and premature mortality. Preventing the accumulation of traumatic events is thus an urgent public health priority.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChildren with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) can experience neurodevelopmental, physical, psychological and behavioural impairments that can result in a disrupted school experience. However, educators often have limited knowledge or experience in the identification and support of students with FASD, and there is a critical need for effective tools and resources to ensure students with FASD are supported in their ongoing learning and development. This scoping review aimed to identify and evaluate publicly available educator resources that aid in the identification, and support of students with FASD in primary/elementary school.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been associated with a greater risk of later criminal offending. However, existing research in this area has been primarily conducted in Western developed countries and cross-cultural studies are rare.
Objectives: This study examined the relationship between ACEs and criminal behaviors in young adults living in 10 countries located across five continents, after accounting for sex, age, and cross-national differences.
Background: There are no available school-based alcohol and drug prevention programs with evidence of effectiveness among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. To address this, we codeveloped the Strong & Deadly Futures well-being and alcohol and drug prevention program in partnership with an Indigenous creative design agency and 4 Australian schools.
Objective: This paper presents the protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of Strong & Deadly Futures in reducing alcohol and other drug use and improving well-being among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth.
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
April 2022
Objective: Alcohol use is a leading cause of burden of disease among young people. Prevention strategies can be effective in the short-term; however little is known about their longer-term effectiveness. The aim of this study was to examine the sustainability of universal, selective, and combined alcohol use prevention across the critical transition period from adolescence into early adulthood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFYoung adulthood is an important developmental period for investigating the nature of violent behavior. This study examines the unique contribution of alcohol use to violence perpetration among young adults in the Australian community, after accounting for the influence of sociodemographic, early life, trait, and well-being influences. Cross-sectional, self-report data was collected from 507 young adults aged 18-20 years in the Australian general community via an online survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anxiety and alcohol use disorders are common and disabling conditions that people typically endure for many years before accessing treatment. The link between anxiety and alcohol use is well-established, with these issues commonly emerging and/or escalating during emerging adulthood. This randomized controlled trial evaluated a psychologist-supported, web-based intervention, designed with and for emerging adults, that aims to promote adaptive coping strategies, and prevent anxiety and alcohol use from progressing to chronic, mutually-reinforcing disorders.
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