Social Networks and Sexual and Gender Minority Disparities in Alcohol Use and Consequences Among First-Year College Students.

In this work, we investigate the association between social relationships and alcohol use and the related consequences of sexual and gender minority (SGM) college students, and we highlight the importance of SGM social networks as a potential protective factor among SGM college students. The study used data from 1340 students (47.2% White and non-Hispanic, 55.

Identification and Description of Potentially Influential Social Network Members using the Strategic Player Approach.

: Diffusion of innovations theory posits that ideas and behaviors can be spread through social network ties. In intervention work, intervening upon certain network members may lead to intervention effects "diffusing" into the network to affect the behavior of network members who did not receive the intervention. The strategic players (SP) method, an extension of Borgatti's Key Players approach, is used to balance the (sometimes) opposing goals of spreading the intervention to as many members of the target group as possible, while preventing the spread of the intervention to others.

U.S. College Students' Social Network Characteristics and Perceived Social Exclusion: A Comparison Between Drinkers and Nondrinkers Based on Past-Month Alcohol Use.

Objective: There is a general perception on college campuses that alcohol use is normative. However, nondrinking students account for 40% of the U.S.

Enrollment and assessment of a first-year college class social network for a controlled trial of the indirect effect of a brief motivational intervention.

Unlabelled: Heavy drinking and its consequences among college students represent a serious public health problem, and peer social networks are a robust predictor of drinking-related risk behaviors. In a recent trial, we administered a Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI) to a small number of first-year college students to assess the indirect effects of the intervention on peers not receiving the intervention.

Objectives: To present the research design, describe the methods used to successfully enroll a high proportion of a first-year college class network, and document participant characteristics.

Relationships between social network characteristics, alcohol use, and alcohol-related consequences in a large network of first-year college students: How do peer drinking norms fit in?

A burgeoning area of research is using social network analysis to investigate college students' substance use behaviors. However, little research has incorporated students' perceived peer drinking norms into these analyses. The present study investigated the association between social network characteristics, alcohol use, and alcohol-related consequences among first-year college students ( = 1,342; 81% of the first-year class) at one university.

Rx for addiction and medication safety: An evaluation of teen education for opioid misuse prevention.

Background: Rhode Island (RI) ninth graders report lifetime nonmedical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) of 8.9%. NMUPO is associated with transition to heroin use, opioid overdose, and death.

Initiation of vaporizing cannabis: Individual and social network predictors in a longitudinal study of young adults.

Background: A trend has recently emerged of individuals using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or similar devices to vaporize cannabis, either in the form of high-potency THC concentrates or cannabis plant material. Peer use is central to the adoption of substance use behaviors in young adulthood, but little is known about peer influence for initiating cannabis vaping.

Methods: A longitudinal investigation of first-year college students (N = 1313) using social network methods was conducted to determine the prevalence of vaping cannabis, differences in networks between individuals who initiate vaping cannabis, and predictors of initiation of vaping cannabis across two time points.

Resistance to peer influence moderates the relationship between perceived (but not actual) peer norms and binge drinking in a college student social network.

Introduction: Adolescent and young adult binge drinking is strongly associated with perceived social norms and the drinking behavior that occurs within peer networks. The extent to which an individual is influenced by the behavior of others may depend upon that individual's resistance to peer influence (RPI).

Methods: Students in their first semester of college (N=1323; 54.

An event- and network-level analysis of college students' maximum drinking day.

Background: Heavy episodic drinking is common among college students and remains a serious public health issue. Previous event-level research among college students has examined behaviors and individual-level characteristics that drive consumption and related consequences but often ignores the social network of people with whom these heavy drinking episodes occur. The main aim of the current study was to investigate the network of social connections between drinkers on their heaviest drinking occasions.

Abstinence-induced withdrawal severity among adolescent smokers with and without ADHD: disentangling effects of nicotine and smoking reinstatement.

Rationale: Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) start smoking earlier, are more likely to progress to nicotine dependence, and have a more difficult time quitting smoking compared to their non-ADHD peers. Little is known about the underlying behavioral mechanisms associated with this increased risk, particularly at the adolescent stage.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the effects of overnight nicotine abstinence and smoking reinstatement on subjective withdrawal states in adolescent smokers with and without ADHD.

Efficacy of the College Drinkers Check-Up for Student Drinkers Living Off Campus.

Objective: Students living in off-campus housing consume more alcohol and experience more alcohol-related consequences than those living on campus, yet prevention efforts have not targeted this high-risk group specifically. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a brief, computer-delivered, alcohol intervention (the College Drinkers Check-Up [CDCU]) in reducing alcohol use and related consequences in a sample of college students living off campus.

Method: Students who lived off campus and reported at least one heavy drinking episode (4+/5+ drinks for females/males in one occasion) in the past 30 days completed the CDCU or assessment only during the first month of the school year (n = 326; 61% female).

Off-Campus Residence as a Risk Factor for Heavy Drinking Among College Students.

Background: College student alcohol use is a public health problem.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine associations between residence and drinking behaviors among college students. We hypothesized that living off-campus independently or with peers would be associated with riskier drinking than living on-campus, and living with parents would be associated with less risky drinking than living on-campus.

Do my peers approve? Interest in injunctive norms feedback delivered online to college student drinkers.

Injunctive norms feedback is promising but understudied as a component of college drinking interventions. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate acceptability of injunctive norms feedback delivered to college drinkers via the web. We examined subjective interest in information reflecting peer approval of four sets of drinking behaviors and outcomes, and correlates of interest in the normative feedback.