Publications by authors named "R Wiers"

Background: The complex interactions between an individual's drinking behavior and their social environment is crucial but understudied, particularly in mature adult populations. Our aim is to unravel these complexities by investigating how personal drinking patterns are related to those of one's social environment over time, and what the interplay is with personal factors such as occupational prestige and smoking behavior.

Method: The present study adopts an innovative graphical autoregressive (GVAR) panel network modeling approach to investigate the dynamics between personal drinking habits and social environmental factors, utilizing a comprehensive longitudinal dataset from the Framingham Heart Study with a large sample of predominantly mature adults (N = 1719-5718) connected within a social network.

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Objective: Motivation is considered a key factor in successful treatment. Unfortunately, detained youth typically show lower motivation for treatment and behavioral change. This pilot study examined the effects of a brief Motivational Interviewing (MI) protocol in conjunction with a Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) intervention aimed at reducing substance use in detained youth.

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Objectives: Anti-tobacco campaigns often suffer from a lack of systematic evaluation and may not always have the intended impact on the target population. Our research adopted immersive virtual reality (iVR) to systematically evaluate preventive anti-tobacco messages in a controlled setting while mimicking a naturalistic and ecological environment. We investigated the effect of content framing of Anti-tobacco posters on attitudes and cravings toward tobacco, and poster recognition.

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Background: A cognitively demanding, alcohol-specific inhibition training (Alc-IT) might enhance treatment success in patients with severe alcohol use disorder (AUD; Stein et al., 2023). An inhibitory working mechanism for Alc-IT has been discussed, but compelling evidence supporting this hypothesis is yet lacking.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study explores how different mental health issues, specifically internalizing (like depression and anxiety) and externalizing problems, interact during early adolescence, a critical time for mental health development.
  • - Researchers used data from over 1,600 adolescents and employed advanced statistical methods to analyze the relationships between these mental health symptoms and executive functioning (EF), revealing complex feedback loops among various anxiety symptoms.
  • - Findings suggest that addressing depressive symptoms early on in adolescents is crucial to preventing a range of other internalizing issues from developing later, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
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