Amy M. Cohn

Problem drinkers may use alcohol to avoid negative mood states and may develop implicit cognitive associations between negative emotional states and reinforcing properties of drinking. It is paradoxical that attempts to control drinking, such as among those high in drinking restraint, may inadvertently increase desire to drink and subsequent alcohol consumption, and this may be exaggerated under times of emotional distress when urges to drink are high. We examined whether individuals who are high on drinking restraint would demonstrate stronger alcohol-related thoughts elicited by stimuli that represent the desire to use alcohol, in response to stronger versus weaker negative mood arousal. Seventy hazardous drinkers completed measurements of drinking restraint, alcohol consumption, and consequences of use. After being randomized to view negative or positive pictures sets, participants completed an Implicit Association Task (IAT) to test differences in the strength of the association between desire to approach or avoid alcohol or water cues, and then a measurement of subjective craving following the IAT. Regression analyses showed that trait restriction not temptation was positively related to IAT scores, after controlling for relevant covariates and explained 7% of the total variance. Trait temptation not IAT predicted subjective craving. Negative affect was unrelated to IAT scores, singly or in conjunction with measures of drinking restraint, contrary to predictions. In sum, implicit alcohol cognitions are related to attempts to restrict drinking not temptation to drink and are less strongly influenced by mood state.

The present study examined the latent continuum of alcohol-related negative consequences among first-year college women using methods from item response theory and classical test theory. Participants (N = 315) were college women in their freshman year who reported consuming any alcohol in the past 90 days and who completed assessments of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related negative consequences using the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index. Item response theory analyses showed poor model fit for five items identified in the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index. Two-parameter item response theory logistic models were applied to the remaining 18 items to examine estimates of item difficulty (i.e., severity) and discrimination parameters. The item difficulty parameters ranged from 0.591 to 2.031, and the discrimination parameters ranged from 0.321 to 2.371. Classical test theory analyses indicated that the omission of the five misfit items did not significantly alter the psychometric properties of the construct. Findings suggest that those consequences that had greater severity and discrimination parameters may be used as screening items to identify female problem drinkers at risk for an alcohol use disorder.

Background:  Interactive and mobile technologies (i.e., smartphones such as Blackberries, iPhones, and palm‐top computers) show promise as an efficacious and cost‐effective means of communicating health‐behavior risks, improving public health outcomes, and accelerating behavior change. The present study was conducted as a “needs assessment” to examine the current available mobile smartphone applications (e.g., apps) that utilize principles of ecological momentary assessment (EMA)—daily self‐monitoring or near real‐time self‐assessment of alcohol‐use behavior—to promote positive behavior change, alcohol harm reduction, psycho‐education about alcohol use, or abstinence from alcohol.Methods:  Data were collected and analyzed from iTunes for Apple iPhone^©. An inventory assessed the number of available apps that directly addressed alcohol use and consumption, alcohol treatment, or recovery, and whether these apps incorporated empirically based components of alcohol treatment.Results:  Findings showed that few apps addressed alcohol‐use behavior change or recovery. Aside from tracking drinking consumption, a minority utilized empirically based components of alcohol treatment. Some apps claimed they could serve as an intervention; however, no empirical evidence was provided.Conclusions:  More studies are needed to examine the efficacy of mobile technology in alcohol intervention studies. The large gap between availability of mobile apps and their use in alcohol treatment programs indicates several important future directions for research.

Objective:The current study examined the distinction between primary and secondary depression among substance use patients to test whether the primary depressed subgroup presents to treatment with ...