FRAMES Elements Associated With Alcohol Treatment Research Assessments and Related Behavior Change.

Objective: Assessment reactivity research has contributed substantially to our understanding of alcohol treatment research protocols influencing clinical outcomes. The state of the science is such that relatively little is known about how alcohol treatment research participation influences behavior. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to determine the distribution of FRAMES elements (i.

Disease and debt: Findings from the 2019 Panel Study of Income Dynamics in the United States.

Medical debt has grown dramatically over the past few decades. While cancer and diabetes are known to be associated with medical debt, little is known about the impact of other medical conditions and health behaviors on medical debt. We analyzed cross-sectional data on 9174 households - spanning lower-income, middle-income, and higher-income based on the Census poverty threshold - participating in the 2019 wave of the nationally representative United States Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).

Alcohol Treatment Research Contributing to Changes in Substance Use Behavior and Related Negative Consequences.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which two of the more salient characteristics of a treatment research assessment protocol (i.e., the comprehensiveness of the assessment battery and the frequency of its administration) for alcohol use disorder contribute to reductions in substance use and related negative consequences.

Development of the alcohol use discrepancy instrument (AUDI): An instrument for measuring a purported mechanism of behavior change underlying self-regulation theory.

Self-regulation theory (SRT) posits that individuals make decisions regarding behavior change based on a comparison of their actual (e.g., excessive alcohol use) and desired (e.

Ascertaining the relationships between the trajectories of specific categories of alcohol-related negative consequences and subsequent drinking behavior.

The first year following alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment has been identified as a period of high risk for relapse and an important timeframe for enquiry regarding alcohol-related behavior change and its maintenance. In addition, at least among individuals with AUD, alcohol use and negative consequences have been shown to be reciprocally related. A commonly used measure of alcohol-related negative consequences is the Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC).

Alcohol treatment research assessment exposure: a critical review of the literature.

Alcohol treatment researchers have speculated about the benefits of research participation (e.g., research follow-up interviews functioning as aftercare) for more than 4 decades (Gallen, 1974).

Collateral informant assessment in alcohol use research involving college students.

Objective: This study examined the associations between college students' self-reported alcohol use and corresponding collateral reports and identified factors that influence agreement between both sets of reports.

Participants/methods: Subject-collateral pairs (N = 300) were recruited from undergraduate psychology courses.

Results: Data yielded moderate correlations between subject-collateral pairs for all alcohol use measures, whereas discrepancy analyses revealed a tendency for subjects to report greater alcohol use relative to collateral reports.

Alcohol use post AUD treatment initiation as a predictor of later functioning.

Objective: To replicate and extend the earlier work of Maisto and colleagues showing an association between early post-treatment alcohol use and later functioning (1, 2, 3).

Methods: The present study classified adults presenting for alcohol use disorders (AUD) treatment (n = 114) into one of three drinker groups (i.e.

Factors mediating the association between drinking in the first year after alcohol treatment and drinking at three years.

Objective: Previous research has shown a significant relationship between alcohol consumption in the first year following alcohol treatment admission and longer term functioning. This finding is clinically important and pertains to the clinical course of alcohol-use disorders(AUDs). This study investigated mediators of these relationships, focusing on the first year after treatment admission and alcohol consumption 3 years later.

Social norms theory-based interventions: testing the feasibility of a purported mechanism of action.

Unlabelled: Social norms-based interventions targeting college student drinking behaviors have become increasingly popular. Such interventions purportedly modify student misperceptions of fellow student drinking behaviors, which leads to changes in individual drinking behavior. Despite claims of successful interventions, research demonstrating that social norms-based interventions modify student perceptions is lacking.

Treatment completion in a brief motivational intervention in the emergency department: the effect of multiple interventions and therapists' behavior.

Background: The aim of this study was to identify therapist behaviors during a brief motivational intervention (BMI) given to injured emergency department patients that predicted participant return for a second BMI session and 12-month alcohol-related outcomes.

Method: This was a secondary data analysis of a randomized controlled trial (n = 539) previously demonstrating that random assignment to a BMI and booster session resulted in a significant reduction of 12-month post-intervention alcohol-related injuries and negative consequences relative to standard care.

Results: Participants who actually received 2 BMI sessions had significantly less alcohol-related negative consequences than those who received only 1 BMI session.

Do patient intervention ratings predict alcohol-related consequences?

Little is known about treatment process for behavior change for brief interventions. Patient ratings of treatment process during a patient-centered brief intervention for alcohol were used to predict post-treatment alcohol use and consequences. We use data from a randomized clinical trial that compared the effects of BI (1 session) to BI and booster (BIB, 2 sessions) to reduce harmful drinking and alcohol consequences.

Alcohol treatment research assessment exposure subject reactivity effects: part II. Treatment engagement and involvement.

Objective: This is the second of two articles in this issue on participant reactivity to alcohol treatment research assessment protocols. In the first article, Clifford et al. presented experimental evidence that the combination of less frequent and less comprehensive assessment results in the least assessment reactivity, as measured by alcohol use and related consequences at 1 year after admission for adult outpatient treatment for alcohol problems.

Alcohol treatment research assessment exposure subject reactivity effects: part I. Alcohol use and related consequences.

Objective: There has been increasing recognition among alcohol treatment researchers that research assessment exposure subject reactivity effects can contribute to clinical outcomes, decrease study design sensitivity, and confound research findings. The present study is an experimental investigation of two of the more salient components of the research assessment interview (i.e.

Moderate drinking in the first year after treatment as a predictor of three-year outcomes.

Objective: The relationship between moderate alcohol consumption in the first year following alcohol treatment admission and longer-term functioning is clinically important and pertains to the clinical course of alcohol-use disorders. This study investigated these relationships, focusing on the first year posttreatment admission and 3 years later.

Method: Analyses were conducted on the outpatient Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity) sample (n = 952 at baseline, and n = 802 at Months 37-39).

The utility of collateral informants in substance use research involving college students.

Collateral informants have been routinely included in substance abuse treatment research to corroborate subject self-reported alcohol and other drug use. However, only a few studies to date have examined subject-collateral correspondence with respect to non-clinical populations (e.g.

Drinking in the year after treatment as a predictor of three-year drinking outcomes.

Objective: Previous research suggests that abstinence from alcohol during the first year posttreatment for alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) is an important, independent predictor of longer-term alcohol consumption and related functioning. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that abstinence during the first year posttreatment initiation predicts alcohol use at Months 37-39. A second aim of this study was to explore the relationship between "moderate" drinking in the first year and drinking at Months 37-39.

Long-term posttreatment functioning among those treated for alcohol use disorders.

This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium that was organized and chaired by Patrick R. Clifford and presented at the 2005 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Santa Barbara, California. The aims of the presentation were to focus on the prediction and explanation of longer-term functioning following alcohol use disorders (AUD) treatment.

Can the short index of problems (SIP) be improved? Validity and reliability of the three-month SIP in an emergency department sample.

Objective: Although the Short Index of Problems (SIP) is often used, little is known about the psychometric properties of the SIP in special populations. The present study seeks to determine the following: (1) whether it is possible to substitute items to enhance the psychometric properties of the SIP and (2) whether the SIP, or improved scale, is as sensitive as the Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC) to assess intervention effectiveness.

Method: The sample consisted of 404 injured patients who were treated in the Emergency Department (ED) of a major teaching hospital that serves southern New England.

Research fundamentals: follow-up of subjects in clinical trials: addressing subject attrition.

Many published clinical trials have less than adequate follow-up. When conducting a clinical trial, researchers attempt to minimize data loss; however, some data may not be collected, particularly when subjects are lost to follow-up. Careful planning of research protocols, including comprehensive initial data collection, identification of locators, flexible scheduling, systematic subject tracking, monitoring subject loss, and systematically approaching problem cases can ensure high follow-up rates.

Marijuana use and prior injury among injured problem drinkers.

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to better understand marijuana use among injured problem drinkers in the emergency department (ED). The specific objectives are: 1) to assess the prevalence of marijuana use; 2) to identify factors associated with marijuana use; 3) to determine whether prior injury is associated with marijuana use; and 4) to determine whether marijuana-using problem drinkers want to change behaviors.

Methods: The authors conducted a post-hoc analysis on data obtained prospectively.

The relationship between abstinence for one year following pretreatment assessment and alcohol use and other functioning at two years in individuals presenting for alcohol treatment.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend research that shows abstinence from alcohol during the first year following treatment predicts better longer term functioning in alcohol use and other areas.

Method: The subjects were 187 men and women who had participated in a clinical trial of the differential effectiveness of two behavioral treatments for alcohol problems as a function of subject characteristics. All subjects who participated in this phase of the study were classified as either abstinent from alcohol or not based on their drinking behavior during the first 12 months following treatment initiation.