A Prospective Comparison of Bipolar I and II Subjects with and without Comorbid Cannabis Use Disorders from the COGA Dataset.

Objective: The comorbidity of alcohol and substance use disorders among persons with bipolar disorder is elevated, as indicated by epidemiological and clinical studies. Following alcohol use, cannabis is the most frequently used and abused illicit substance among bipolar individuals, and such use may lead to comorbid cannabis use disorders (CUD). Previous research indicated that CUDs were related to a more severe course of bipolar disorder and higher rates of other comorbid alcohol and substance use disorders.

Subtypes of Alcohol Dependence and 36-Year Mortality.

Background: Chronic, heavy alcohol use is associated with multiple health problems, including premature death. Further, the clinical presentation of alcohol dependence may differentially affect and predict the long-term health consequences of affected individuals. Subtypes of alcohol dependence based upon treatment intake information can help identify homogenous groups of patients for treatment purposes, but have not been used to predict long-term outcomes.

Conclusion: Special issue on genetic and alcohol use disorder research with diverse racial/ethnic groups: Key findings and potential next steps.

Background And Objectives: This special issue brings together papers focusing on a wide range of topics relevant to the research and understanding of the role of race/ethnicity and genetic variation for the susceptibility of developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Methods: The key findings from the issue's 10 articles are reviewed and organized here around three topics: I: addictive behaviors and potential environmental influences; II: a focus on four racial/ethnic groups; and III: special methodologies.

Results: Several potential next steps in improving effective research strategies are highlighted: (1) implementing best practices for outreach and community engagement may reduce reluctance to participate; (2) recruiting adequately sized and racially/ethnically diverse samples will require new collaborations with investigators who successfully work in diverse communities; (3) identifying and assessing environmental influences that are both unique to, and common among, racial/ethnic groups may inform preventions for AUD; (4) use of standardized measures will facilitate the generation of larger samples and meta-analysis of research findings; and (5) use of better analytic approaches and experimental methods will improve replication in gene finding research and help advance new areas of research.

Introduction: Special issue on genetic research of alcohol use disorder in diverse racial/ethnic populations.

This special issue of The American Journal on Addictions is an extension of a workshop held at the Research Society on Alcoholism (2015) highlighting several important issues related to studies of the genetic bases of alcohol use disorder among racially/ethnically diverse populations. While not exhaustive in their coverage, the papers in this special issue focus on three important topics: (1) the importance of considering the social and environmental context in genetic analyses; (2) social and cultural considerations for engaging diverse communities in genetic research; and (3) methodologies related to phenotype development for use with racially/ethnically diverse populations. A brief overview of each paper included in these three sections is presented.

Consensus paper of the WFSBP task force on biological markers: biological markers for alcoholism.

Objectives: This article presents an overview of the current literature on biological markers for alcoholism, including markers associated with the pharmacological effects of alcohol and markers related to the clinical course and treatment of alcohol-related problems. Many of these studies are well known, while other studies cited are new and still being evaluated.

Methods: In this paper we first describe known biomarkers of alcohol-related disorders, review their features and the problems involved in their use.

Genetics of alcohol dependence and social work research: do they mix?

Since completion of the mapping of the human genome in early 2000, tremendous progress has been made in the identification of many different genes associated with our health and across diseases. Although social work researchers are not expected to conduct genetic research at the molecular level, it is imperative that we are able to understand the basic genetic findings related to behavioral problems and are able to translate and integrate this information into psychosocial treatment approaches and program development. This article is an introduction and overview of genetic approaches, using studies of the genetics of alcoholism to exemplify important issues.

Measurement invariance of DSM-IV alcohol, marijuana and cocaine dependence between community-sampled and clinically overselected studies.

Aims: To examine whether DSM-IV symptoms of substance dependence are psychometrically equivalent between existing community-sampled and clinically overselected studies.

Participants: A total of 2476 adult twins born in Minnesota and 4121 unrelated adult participants from a case-control study of alcohol dependence.

Measurements: Life-time DSM-IV alcohol, marijuana and cocaine dependence symptoms and ever use of each substance.

Ethnicity and gender comparisons of health consequences in adults with alcohol dependence.

The moderating effects of ethnicity and gender on factors associated with physical health consequences in adults manifesting alcohol dependence were examined using data from the 2001-2002 US National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Black and white respondents with a lifetime diagnosis of DSM-IV alcohol dependence were selected for the study (n = 3,852). A multiple-group structural equation model tested ethnicity, gender, and intervening variables as predictors of physical health status in alcohol-dependent men and women.

Alcohol problems in young adults transitioning from adolescence to adulthood: The association with race and gender.

Race and gender may be important considerations for recognizing alcohol related problems in Black and White young adults. This study examined the prevalence and age of onset of individual alcohol problems and alcohol problem severity across race and gender subgroups from a longitudinal study of a community sample of adolescents followed into young adulthood (N=166; 23-29 yrs. old who were drinkers).

Strengthening Family Practices for Latino Families.

The study examined the effectiveness of a culturally-adapted Strengthening Families Program (SFP) for Latinos to reduce risks for alcohol and drug use in children. Latino families, predominantly Puerto Rican, with a 9-12 year old child and a parent(s) with a substance abuse problem participated in the study. Pre- and post-tests were conducted with each family.

Development and vulnerability factors in adolescent alcohol use.

This article provides an overview of the characteristics of adolescent alcohol use, normative and subgroup variations in drinking behavior, and the important factors associated with an increased risk for developing alcohol problems in later adolescence and young adulthood. Parental or family histories of alcoholism, temperament traits, conduct problems, cognitive functioning, alcohol expectancies, and peer and other social relations are identified as factors influencing an adolescent's susceptibility for initiating a variety of alcohol use behaviors. The deviance prone model, proposed by Sher in 1991, is presented as an important tool for testing possible relationships among the various risk factors and their sequencing that leads to early adolescent alcohol use and drug initiation.

Ethnicity and adolescent pathways to alcohol use.

Objective: This study examined the influence of ethnicity on factors affecting alcohol-use behaviors in a community sample of white, black, and Hispanic youth (N = 323). Conduct problems, positive alcohol expectancies, and socioeconomic status were expected to mediate the effect of negative affectivity and a paternal history of substance dependence on the age at onset of regular drinking and the frequency of drinking.

Method: Subjects ages 14-21 (57.

Are there empirically supported and clinically useful subtypes of alcohol dependence?

Aims: This paper provides an overview of several multidimensional empirically derived typologies of alcohol use disorders that have been derived primarily for research purposes in relation to their clinical utility.

Methods: Studies using multivariate statistical methods for identifying homogeneous groups of subjects were selected for inclusion. Theoretically based typologies were not included in this review.

Multiple substance dependence and course of alcoholism among Alaska native men and women.

Alcohol dependence among Native Americans and Alaska Natives is twice that found in the general population. Alaska Natives are 7 times more likely to die of alcohol-related problems. This study investigated differences in the course and consequences of alcoholism and co-occurring polysubstance dependence in a sample of 582 alcohol-dependent Alaska Natives undergoing inpatient lifetime treatment in Anchorage between 1994 and 1999.

Ethnicity and psychiatric comorbidity among alcohol-dependent persons who receive inpatient treatment: African Americans, Alaska natives, Caucasians, and Hispanics.

This study examined ethnic and gender differences of psychiatric comorbidity among alcohol dependent men and women from four ethnic groups: Alaska Native, Caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanics. The data were obtained through individual standardized interview; DSM-III-R diagnoses were obtained via a computer algorithm. The subjects included 1177 Caucasians, 361 African Americans, 93 Hispanics and 486 Alaska Natives.

Gender and Alcoholic Subtypes.

Although women generally have been subjects of alcohol research less often than men, gender can be used as a defining characteristic in subtyping schemes. Whether the sexes actually differ in aspects of their alcoholism, such as in etiology and degree of severity, however, is not known. Analyzing a sample of male and female alcoholics using several different statistical methods, the researchers found that men and women with either a severe or mild form of alcoholism differed little in their character profiles and etiologies.