Racial Discrimination and Hazardous Drinking among Black Drinkers: The Role of Social Anxiety in the Minority Stress Model.

Black Americans who consume alcohol experience worse alcohol-related outcomes. Thus, identifying psycho-sociocultural factors that play a role in hazardous drinking among Black individuals is vital to informing prevention and treatment efforts to reduce these disparities. Racial discrimination is related to hazardous drinking among Black adults, suggesting that some may drink (and continue to drink despite drinking-related problems) to alleviate negative affect (e.

Functional Impairment in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic among Cannabis Users.

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has contributed to over 2 million deaths and hospitalization of many individuals worldwide. Although preliminary evidence suggests that cannabis use has increased during the pandemic, there has been little research on the impact of cannabis use on COVID-related psychological outcomes. Cannabis use among college students is associated with problematic psychosocial outcomes; thus, it follows that cannabis users during the pandemic may experience more functional impairment problems with daily living as a result of increased psychological distress from the pandemic and difficulty with regulating that distress.

Biopsychosocial Model Social Anxiety and Substance Use Revised.

Purpose Of Review: To review data published in the past 5 years to evaluate the utility of our biopsychosocial model of social anxiety's relation to substance misuse to evaluate the model's utility and update it.

Recent Findings: Data support the utility of our revised model-e.g.

Difficulties with emotion regulation and drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic among undergraduates: the serial mediation of COVID-related distress and drinking to cope with the pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has contributed to thousands of hospitalizations and deaths worldwide. Although alcohol use has increased in response to the pandemic, no known studies have identified transdiagnostic risk factors for greater drinking in response to COVID-related distress. Individuals with more difficulty with emotion regulation may drink more during the pandemic to manage pandemic-related distress.