Alcohol mixed with energy drinks: are there associated negative consequences beyond hazardous drinking in college students?

Objective: The consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) is prevalent among college students as is hazardous drinking, a drinking pattern that places one at risk for alcohol-related harm. The present study, therefore, examined associations between AmED use, hazardous drinking, and alcohol-related consequences in college students.

Methods: Based on a probability sample conducted in 2010, participants were 606 undergraduate students aged 18-25.

Efficacy of acamprosate for alcohol dependence in a family medicine setting in the United States: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Background: Acamprosate has been found to enhance rates of complete abstinence and to increase percent days abstinent (PDA) from alcohol relative to placebo treatment. As most U.S.

Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Assay to Detect Ethyl Glucuronide in Human Fingernail: Comparison to Hair and Gender Differences.

Over the past decade, the use of hair specimens for the long-term detection of the alcohol biomarker ethyl glucuronide has been increasing in popularity and usage. We evaluated the usefulness of fingernail clippings as a suitable alternative to hair for ethyl glucuronide detection. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the detection of ethyl glucuronide in fingernail clippings was fully validated and used to analyze the hair and/or fingernail specimens of 606 college-aged study participants.

Sociodemographic correlates of energy drink consumption with and without alcohol: results of a community survey.

Objective: We examined the sociodemographic correlates of energy drink use and the differences between those who use them with and without alcohol in a representative community sample.

Methods: A random-digit-dial landline telephone survey of adults in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area responded to questions about energy drink and alcohol plus energy drink use.

Results: Almost one-third of respondents consumed at least one energy drink in their lifetime, while slightly over 25% used energy drinks in the past year and 6% were past-year alcohol plus energy drink users.

Student drinking-related problems in an urban campus: implications for research and prevention.

Objective: Researchers who study the etiology of college drinking typically employ measures of alcohol-use behaviors as outcomes; however, relatively little is known about the properties of alcohol-related problems (AP). This study aims to develop a single continuous measure of AP.

Participants: The sample included 531 undergraduate college students who were surveyed in March 2007.

Reactions of heterosexual African American men to women's condom negotiation strategies.

This study describes responses of 172 single heterosexual African American men, ages 18 to 35, to condom negotiation attempts. Strategies used included reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, referent, and informational strategies, based on Raven's (1992) influence model. The purpose was (a) to identify strategies influencing participant acquiescence to request and (b) to identify predictors of participant compliance/refusal to comply with negotiation attempts.

Depression self-stigma: a new measure and preliminary findings.

It is widely recognized that stigmatization of mental disorders leads stigmatized individuals to avoid treatment altogether or discontinue treatment prematurely. Literature suggests that the impact of stigma may differ by diagnosis; however, previous attempts to measure self-stigma have not been disorder specific. This study sought to develop the Depression Self-Stigma Scale (DSSS) and identify distinct constructs associated with depression self-stigma.

The revised safe at home instrument for assessing readiness to change intimate partner violence.

This article describes the development and factor structure of the Revised Safe At Home instrument, a 35-item self-report measure designed to assess individuals' readiness to change their intimate partner violence behaviors. Seven new items have been added, representing content specific to the Maintenance stage, and other items have been revised to strengthen the assessment of earlier stages and address gender concerns. Confirmatory factor analysis using multisite data (two sites, a total of 281 men at intake) supported the conclusion that a four-factor model (Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation/Action, and Maintenance stages) was consistent with the observed covariances.

Validity of self-reported substance use in men who have sex with men: comparisons with a general population sample.

Purpose: To understand the validity of self-reported recent drug use in men who have sex with men (MSM).

Methods: We obtained a probability sample of Chicago men who have sex with men (MSM; n=216) and administered urine and saliva drug testing after a self-administered interview. Analyses examined participation in drug testing, the agreement between self-reported past month drug use and drug test results, correlates of underreporting, and the relative utility of drug testing versus self-reports in identifying recent marijuana and cocaine use.

Condom use negotiation in heterosexual African American adults: responses to types of social power-based strategies.

This study examined gender differences and preferences in the use of and response to six different styles of condom use negotiation with a hypothetical sexual partner of the opposite gender. Participants were 51 heterosexually active African American adults attending an inner-city community center. Participants completed a semistructured qualitative interview in which they were presented with six negotiation strategies based on Raven's 1992 Power/Interaction Model of Interpersonal Influence.

Measuring sexual risk for HIV: a Rasch scaling approach.

In this study, we developed an HIV transmission risk scale and examined its psychometric properties using data on sexual behavior obtained from a probability sample of adult men who have sex with men living in Chicago. We used Messick's (Am Psychol 50:741-749, 1995) conceptualization of unified validity theory to organize the psychometric properties of data. Evidence related to scale content was investigated via Rasch item fit statistics, point-measure correlations, and expert evaluation.

Vicarious exposure to terrorist attacks and substance use: results from an urban household survey.

This study investigated the impact of the 9/11 attacks on substance use in Chicago, Illinois. The study design was a cross-sectional, audio-computer-assisted self-interview survey conducted in 2001 and 2002. Biological samples were also collected for toxicological analyses.

Prevalence and characteristics of hazardous drinkers: results of the Greater Milwaukee Survey.

Context: At-risk drinking is of particular concern in Wisconsin.

Objective: This study investigated the prevalence and demographic characteristics of hazardous drinkers in the Milwaukee area.

Design: The study design was a cross-sectional survey.

Clinical and methodological utility of a composite outcome measure for alcohol treatment research.

Background: How to capture different response patterns resulting from alcohol treatment has been a troublesome issue for alcohol researchers. A composite measure is one approach to capturing multiple treatment outcomes among diverse client populations. This article provides the rationale, development, and work conducted thus far on the composite outcome index and discusses the clinical utility of the measure.

A collaborative student affairs and faculty health assessment and intervention initiative.

The authors describe a collaborative partnership forged between faculty and student affairs staff to improve student health at a large urban university. They examine skills and reward structures of each constituency and the stages of the collaboration in the context of 2 theoretical models. A comprehensive data collection and dissemination process in the campus community provided goals for the initial stage of the partnership, leading to implementation of campus initiatives that use the reciprocal skills of each stakeholder.

Public health strategies to reduce and prevent alcohol-related illness, injury and death in Wisconsin and Milwaukee County.

This paper illustrates the application of a Public Health Model toward understanding the nature and extent of alcohol-related problems and, in turn, provides examples of strategies targeted at reducing or preventing alcohol-related illness, injury and death in Wisconsin and Milwaukee County. More specifically, data are provided detailing the widespread use and misuse of alcohol as well as the medical, behavioral and social problems associated with its use. Alcohol use and misuse is the third leading cause of preventable death behind only tobacco use and diet/activity patterns, and therefore, warrants the implementation of prevention strategies from a public health perspective.

Development of a composite measure for assessing alcohol treatment outcome: operationalization and validation.

This article operationally describes and empirically validates a composite outcome measure developed for use in a multisite alcohol treatment matching study. Using empirically based clinical guidelines to establish alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems criteria, 1,726 subjects were classified as abstinent, moderate drinking without problems, heavy drinking or problems, or heavy drinking and problems at intake and 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months postintake. Subjects with poorer composite outcome also had poorer outcomes related to quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, serum gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase and other nonalcohol-related measures assessing psychiatric dysfunction, psychosocial functioning, and purpose or meaning in life.

Actual and estimated replication costs for alcohol treatment modalities: case study from Project MATCH.

Objective: As a first step in a thorough cost-effectiveness analysis of a randomized alcohol-treatment-matching trial (Project MATCH), the present study examines the relative costs of three manual-guided, individually delivered treatments and the costs of replicating them in nonresearch settings.

Method: Costs of delivering a 12-session Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a 4-session Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) and a 12- session Twelve-Step Facilitation (TSF) treatment over 12 weeks were assessed for three treatment sites at two of the nine Project MATCH locations (Milwaukee, WI, and Providence, RI). Research cost calculations included clinical, administrative and training/supervision variables in determining total treatment costs, average cost per contact hour and average cost per research participant.

Composite outcome measures in alcoholism treatment research: problems and potentialities.

Alcoholism treatment researchers have increasingly incorporated multiple measures representing multiple dimensions in assessing treatment outcomes. However, no satisfactory model exists for examining the dynamic interrelationships of multiple measures in determining clinically meaningful and interpretable outcomes. One approach to analyzing multiple outcomes is to combine them into a composite measure.