Reliability of a Timeline Followback measure of caffeinated coffee consumption.

Background And Aims: The Timeline Followback (TLFB) was initially developed to collect retrospective self- reports of alcohol and drug use. Since its development, several peer-reviewed papers have supported it as a sound psychometric measure for substance use and for several other behaviors. Worldwide, coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages.

Reducing alcohol consumption to minimize weight gain and facilitate smoking cessation among military beneficiaries.

Introduction: Smoking cessation-related weight gain can have significant negative health and career consequences for military personnel. Alcohol reduction combined with smoking cessation may decrease weight gain and relapse.

Method: A randomized clinical trial of military beneficiaries compared a standard smoking cessation (i.

Preventing Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancies: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Self-Administered Version of Project CHOICES with College Students and Nonstudents.

Background: Alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEPs) are a preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities for which many women are at risk. The initial 5-session Project CHOICES intervention was found to prevent AEPs. In the ensuing decade, there have been several additional CHOICES-like studies.

Two Brief Measures of Alcohol Use Produce Different Results: AUDIT-C and Quick Drinking Screen.

Background: Several psychometrically sound measures of alcohol use have been developed to assess drinking. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and its shorter counterpart the AUDIT-C, which contains the first 3 AUDIT questions, were developed by the World Health Organization and have become the preferred brief measures for screening and evaluating problem severity. This study compared the first 3 questions on the AUDIT with another psychometrically sound brief measure of alcohol use, the Quick Drinking Screen (QDS).

Bridging the Gap Between Scientists and Practitioners: The Challenge Before Us - Republished Article.

The need to develop effective and efficient strategies for the dissemination of evidence-based health care has been recognized by governments, researchers, and clinicians alike. However, recognition and implementation are separate issues. If scientists are to have a significant impact on clinical practice, they will have to learn a new way of "doing business.

Evaluating alcohol use among Russian women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy: A comparison of three measures of alcohol use.

The Quick Drinking Screen (QDS) and Timeline Followback (TLFB), measures of alcohol use, have yielded similar reports of drinking with English speakers. The present study, a secondary data analysis, compared three measures of alcohol use (i.e.

Preventing alcohol-exposed pregnancies among Hispanic women.

Project Healthy CHOICES, a self-administered, mail-based prevention intervention, was developed for women at risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP). Participants were sent their assessment and study materials through the United States Postal Service. This article uses data from a larger study (N = 354) and focuses on the 89 women who identified as Hispanic.

Craigslist versus print newspaper advertising for recruiting research participants for alcohol studies: Cost and participant characteristics.

Introduction: Technology has transformed our lifestyles in dramatic and significant ways, including new and less expensive options for recruiting study participants. This study examines cost and participant differences between two recruitment sources, Craigslist (CL), and print newspapers (PNs). This paper also reviewed and compared studies involving clinical trials published since 2010 that recruited participants using CL alone or in combination with other methods.

Using a single binge drinking question to identify Russian women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy.

Introduction: Low rates of contraception and at-risk drinking place many Russian women at risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP). The only realistic way to determine when women are at risk of AEP is by self-reports. A U.

Autobiographical narratives can be used with confidence to collect information about ex-smokers' reasons for quitting smoking.

Although autobiographical narratives (ABNs) provide rich descriptions of how people change addictive behaviors, psychometric evaluations of such reports are rare. 27 ex-smokers who had quit for 1 to 5 years were interviewed twice about why they quit. Participants' ABN reasons for why they quit smoking were compared with their answers on the Reasons For Quitting (RFQ) scale and found to be similar.

Alcohol and drug treatment outcome studies: new methodological review (2005-2010) and comparison with past reviews.

Objective: Several methodological reviews of alcohol treatment outcome studies and one review of drug studies have been published over the past 40 years. Although past reviews demonstrated methodological improvements in alcohol studies, they also found continued deficiencies. The current review allows for an updated evaluation of the methodological rigor of alcohol and drug studies and, by utilizing inclusion criteria similar to previous reviews, it allows for a comparative review over time.

Reliability of the Timeline Followback for cocaine, cannabis, and cigarette use.

The Timeline Followback (TLFB), a retrospective calendar-based measure of daily substance use, was initially developed to obtain self-reports of alcohol use. Since its inception it has undergone extensive evaluation across diverse populations and is considered the most psychometrically sound self-report measure of drinking. Although the TLFB has been extended to other behaviors, its psychometric evaluation with other addictive behaviors has not been as extensive as for alcohol use.

Shorter and proximal Timeline Followback windows are representative of longer posttreatment functioning.

Very little research has been conducted on what time window provides a representative picture of daily drinking. With respect to pretreatment drinking, one study that used the Timeline Followback (TLFB) with problem drinkers found that a 3-month window is generally representative of annual pretreatment drinking. The objective of the present study was to determine the shortest representative time window for reports of annual posttreatment drinking.

Psychometric properties of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) with substance abusers in outpatient and residential treatment.

The psychometric properties of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT), an 11-item self-report questionnaire developed to screen individuals for drug problems, are evaluated. The measure, developed in Sweden and evaluated there with individuals with severe drug problems, has not been evaluated with less severe substance abusers or with clinical populations in the United States. Participants included 35 drug abusers in an outpatient substance abuse treatment program, 79 drug abusers in a residential substance abuse treatment program, and 39 alcohol abusers from both treatment settings who did not report a drug abuse problem.

Using one question to identify women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy.

Context: Consumption of 8 alcoholic drinks per week or 5 alcoholic drinks on one occasion by a pregnant woman can affect the developing fetus. However, it can be difficult to determine which patients are at risk.

Objective: To evaluate how well the answer to a single question about binge drinking could help identify women at risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP).

A Dual-Focus Motivational Intervention to Reduce the Risk of Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancy.

Project CHOICES developed an integrated behavioral intervention for prevention of prenatal alcohol exposure in women at high risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancies. Settings included primary care, university-hospital based obstetrical/gynecology practices, an urban jail, substance abuse treatment settings, and a media-recruited sample in three large cities. The intervention was based on motivational interviewing and targeted both adoption of effective contraception and reduction of alcohol use.

Randomized controlled trial of a cognitive-behavioral motivational intervention in a group versus individual format for substance use disorders.

Although group therapy is widely used for individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing the same treatment in a group versus individual format are rare. This paper presents the results of a RCT comparing guided self-change (GSC) treatment, a cognitive-behavioral motivational intervention, conducted in a group versus individual format with 212 alcohol abusers and 52 drug abusers who voluntarily sought outpatient treatment. Treatment outcomes demonstrated significant and large reductions in clients' alcohol and drug use during treatment and at the 12-month follow-up, with no significant differences between the group and individual therapy conditions.

Keeping psychotherapy notes separate from the patient record.

Doctoral level psychologists (N = 464) who were members of the American Psychological Association and who identified themselves as clinical practitioners were surveyed about their knowledge and utilization of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule that allows practitioners to keep their psychotherapy notes separate from their patients' records if they involve electronic submissions. Although 79% of those surveyed said they were aware of the HIPAA privacy rule allowing for a separate set of notes, slightly less than half (46%) reported currently using such notes even though half (49%) felt that patients benefit most from the use of a separate set of psychotherapy notes. Surprisingly, 21% said they had never heard of the HIPAA provision allowing for a separate set of notes.

A Quick Drinking Screen for identifying women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy.

Two previous studies comparing the Quick Drinking Screen (QDS) with the Timeline Followback (TLFB) found that these two instruments yielded similar reports of alcohol use for clinical and nonclinical populations of problem drinkers. The current study evaluated the correspondence between these two drinking measures with women at risk of an Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancy (AEP). Participants were 355 women who voluntarily participated in a research study during 2005 through 2007 designed to prevent AEPs.

Comparison of the quick drinking screen and the alcohol timeline followback with outpatient alcohol abusers.

Objective: A recent study comparing the Quick Drinking Screen (QDS) with the Timeline Followback (TLFB) found that in a nonclinical population of problem drinkers both measures produced reliable summary measures of drinking. The current study was designed to replicate these findings with a clinical population of alcohol abusers. The data were collected over three years (2004-2006).

Using the Timeline Followback to determine time windows representative of annual alcohol consumption with problem drinkers.

When assessing individuals with alcohol use disorders, measurement of drinking can be a resource intensive activity, particularly because many research studies report data for intervals ranging from 6 to 12 months prior to the interview. This study examined whether data from shorter assessment intervals is sufficiently representative of longer intervals to warrant the use of shorter intervals for clinical and research purposes. Participants were 825 problem drinkers (33.

Comparing the BDI-II and the PHQ-9 with outpatient substance abusers.

Because of the high co-occurrence of Axis-I mood disorders with primary substance use disorders (SUD), it is important to routinely assess substance abusers for evidence of a mood disorder. The primary goal of the present study was to examine the psychometric characteristics of two widely used self-report measures of depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II; Patient Health Questionnaire PRIME MD) with substance abusers (N=108) in an outpatient treatment setting. Using Cronbach's alpha, the reliabilities of the BDI-II and the PHQ-9 were 0.

Differences among substance abusers in Spain who recovered with treatment or on their own.

This exploratory study compared the differences among substance abusers in Spain who recovered with treatment or on their own. Advertisements were used to recruit 58 individuals (29 self-changers and 29 treatment-changers) who had had problems with alcohol or drugs, and who had been recovered for at least one year. The groups differed significantly in severity of dependence, psychiatric treatment prior to recovery, and coping strategies to maintain recovery.