Reciprocal longitudinal relationship between depressive symptoms and problematic alcohol use: a random intercept cross-lagged panel model including a nationwide sample of Korean adults.

Psychopathological factors associated with problematic alcohol and problematic Internet use in a sample of adolescents in Germany

Identifying and Reducing Bias in Genome-Wide Association Studies of Alcohol-Related Traits.

Problematic alcohol use in physicians poses a serious concern to physicians' health and their ability to provide care. Understanding the extent and characteristics of physicians with problematic alcohol use will help inform interventions. To estimate the extent of problematic alcohol use in physicians and how it differs by physician sex, age, medical specialty, and career stage (eg, residency vs practicing physician). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) 2020-compliant systematic review, searching Medline, Embase, and PsychInfo from January 2006 to March 2020. Search terms included Medical Subject Headings terms and keywords related to physicians as the population and problematic alcohol use as the primary outcome. The quality of studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We included articles where problematic alcohol use was measured by a validated tool (ie, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT], AUDIT Version C [AUDIT-C], or CAGE [Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, and Eye-opener] questionnaire) in practicing physicians (ie, residents, fellows, or staff physicians). Thirty-one studies involving 51 680 participants in 17 countries published between January 2006 and March 2020 were included. All study designs were cross-sectional, self-reported surveys. Problematic alcohol use varied widely regardless of measurement method (0 to 34% with AUDIT; 9% to 35% with AUDIT-C; 4% to 22% with CAGE). Reported problematic alcohol use increased over time from 16.3% in 2006 to 2010 to 26.8% in 2017 to 2020. The extent of problematic use by sex was examined in 19 studies, by age in 12 studies, by specialty in 7 studies, and by career stage in 5 studies. Seven of 19 studies (37%) identified that problematic alcohol use was more common in males than females. Based on the wide heterogeneity of methods for included studies, limited conclusions can be made on how problematic alcohol use varies based on physician age, sex, specialty, and career stage. Studies about problematic alcohol use in physicians demonstrate a high degree of heterogeneity in terms of methods of measurement, definitions for problematic alcohol use, and cohorts assessed. Most studies are primarily self-reported, precluding the ability to determine the true prevalence among the profession. Few studies provide relevant comparisons to aid in identifying key risk groups for targeted interventions.

Introduction: Emotional factors are often specified as playing an important role in the context of problematic alcohol use and alcohol addiction. Aims: This study focused on examining the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation, perceived personal problems, and problematic alcohol use. Methods: 374 participants from the general population in Slovenia and Croatia (34.8% men, 65.2% women) with an average age of 44.28 years (range: 26 to 74 years) completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Individual Problems and Strengths Scale (IPS) and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale – Short Form (DERS-SF). Results: A higher level of problematic alcohol use positively correlated with difficulties in emotion regulation and the assessment of individual problems (p ≤ .010). Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that higher AUDIT scores were positively associated with two dimensions of difficulties in emotion regulation: impulse control difficulties (β = 0.22, p = .008) and lack of emotional awareness (β = 0.15, p = .010). Difficulties in emotion regulation completely mediated the effect of individual problems on problematic alcohol use (indirect effect: 0.18, CI [–.06, –.31]; p < .001): higher levels of individual problems contribute to higher levels of problematic alcohol use through the effect of difficulties in emotion regulation. Conclusions: The findings indicate the vulnerability of individuals with difficulties in emotion regulation to problematic alcohol use. Difficulties in emotion regulation are an important factor to consider for understanding the development, maintenance, and treatment of alcoholism and problematic alcohol use.

Personality traits have been consistently linked to alcohol use. High neuroticism and extraversion and low agreeableness and conscientiousness are known risk factors for both alcohol use frequency and problematic use across the lifespan. These associations have mostly been studied in the sufficient causality domain ("if X, then probably Y"), whereas little is known about these relationships in the necessary causality one ("if not X, then not Y"). Knowing that a variable is a necessary cause for an outcome helps identify who will be at risk for the outcome and who will be virtually immune. The aim of this study was to test whether personality traits in childhood, adolescence and emerging adulthood might serve as necessary conditions for problematic alcohol use in adulthood. The study is part of the "Flemish Study on Parenting, Personality, and Development", and it is a 23-year longitudinal study across four time points [childhood (T1), adolescence (T2), emerging adulthood (T3), adulthood (T4)]. Flanders (Belgium). At T1, the total sample consisted of 306 participants (age = 7.8 ± 1.13 years, and 59.15% females), at T2 of 289 participants (age = 15.78 ± 1.16 years, 59.86% females), at T3 of 290 participants (age = 21.78 ± 1.15 years, 59.66% females) and at T4 of 306 participants (age = 30.08 ± 1.13 years, 59.15% females). Personality traits were assessed in childhood, adolescence and emerging adulthood using the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC) and were related to problematic alcohol use, measured through the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), in adulthood. Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) was used to test whether specific traits were necessary for the outcome, and to what extent. Conscientiousness emerged as a developmentally stable necessary condition for problematic alcohol use in adulthood (childhood: d = 0.31, P = 0.050; adolescence: d = 0.33, P = 0.052; emerging adulthood: d = 0.33, P = 0.023; all large effects). No other personality traits reached statistical significance. It is possible to identify, already in childhood and through the lifespan, personality characteristics that distinguish individuals vulnerable to developing problematic alcohol use in adulthood from those who are not. Specifically, lower levels of conscientiousness appear to be necessary to be at risk of potentially developing problematic alcohol use in adulthood, whereas high levels of conscientiousness appear to lead to virtual immunity.

Associations of parental and peer cross-substance use with 12–17-year-old adolescents’ problematic alcohol use: A parent-child dyadic gender analysis

Objective To examine the relationship between problematic alcohol use and contributing factors among Korean professional soldiers.Methods Cross-sectional data of 2,646 participants collected by 2014 military-wide representative health survey was analyzed. Multivariate logistic models were used to identify contributing factors for problematic alcohol use. Problematic alcohol use was defined by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire as hazardous (8≤ AUDIT <16) or harmful (AUDIT ≥16). Tolerant drinking culture was measured by the Drinking Culture Questionnaire.Results Hazardous alcohol use was found in 56.9% of men and 46.8% of women and harmful use in a further 16.2% of men and 5.4% of women. In univariate analyses, perceived health status, subjective sleep quality, depression, and drinking culture were related to the outcome variable. In multivariate models controlling covariates, the likelihood of problematic alcohol use was significantly increased by man gender, being single, current/past smoking, and tolerant/permissive drinking culture. In those with harmful alcohol consumption, tolerant drinking culture was a particularly powerful influence.Conclusion A substantial proportion of Korean professional soldiers demonstrated problematic alcohol use. Tolerant drinking culture was shown to have a significant influence on problematic alcohol use in the military. Our findings underscore the need for public health policies that address this drinking culture to mitigate negative health consequences and preserve the forces’ combat readiness.

The relationship among depressive symptoms, urgency, and problematic alcohol and cannabis use in community adults

Empirical evidence and theory implicate the role of distress tolerance in the relationship between negative affect and alcohol use. However, limited research has been conducted to explore these relationships. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine whether distress tolerance moderates the relationship between current depressive symptoms and problematic alcohol use in a community sample of adults. Participants included 150 adults, primarily female, recruited from the local community. Problematic alcohol use was measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) total score, which is a composite measure of harmful and hazardous patterns of alcohol use and several current alcohol dependence symptoms. Distress tolerance was measured using a computerized behavioral distress tolerance task, the Computerized Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT-C). Tobit regression analyses indicated a significant interaction between distress tolerance and depressive symptoms in predicting alcohol problems, such that depressive symptoms were significantly associated with problematic alcohol use among adults with low, but not high, distress tolerance. Thus, alcohol use interventions with a focus on distress tolerance skills in the context of depressive symptoms may be particularly effective.

Examining the effects of problematic alcohol use on cigarette abstinence in recently diagnosed cancer patients enrolled in a cessation trial: A secondary analysis

ABSTRACTBackground: Problematic alcohol use is common among university students and personality might account for individual differences in developing this maladaptive behavior. Two personality dispositions implicated in problematic alcohol use are negative urgency and neuroticism. However, the relationship of these traits to problematic alcohol use is unclear. In college students high neuroticism is not directly linked to problematic alcohol use. On the other hand, the experience of emotional distress in people high in neuroticism could impair the capacity for impulse control. Loss of impulse control under conditions of negative affect could trigger impulsive drinking and problematic alcohol use in the long run. Objectives: We investigated this idea by testing whether negative urgency mediates the relationship of neuroticism to problematic alcohol use. Methods: Participants were 60 undergraduate university students who completed the Urgency subscale of the Urgency, (lack of) Premeditation, (lack of) Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency Impulsive Behaviour scale (UPPS-P), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Neuroticism subscale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised short form (EPQ-RSS). Results: The results confirmed our hypothesis as we found an indirect effect of negative urgency on the relationship between neuroticism and problematic alcohol use. Conclusions/Importance: It appears that it is not distress but the tendency to act rashly when distressed that is important in developing problematic alcohol drinking in university students.

BackgroundMental health-related problems predispose alcohol and other psychoactive substances use as coping strategies. We assessed associations between resilience and anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, problematic alcohol, and multiple psychoactive substance use among sexual minority and heterosexual adolescents in Nigeria.MethodsThis was a secondary analysis of a subset of data generated through an online cross-sectional study conducted between 16th and 31st of October 2020. Data extracted for adolescents in Nigeria age 13–19 years were: dependent variables (alcohol use using the CAGE test, multiple psychoactive substance use, depressive symptoms using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and anxiety symptoms using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 measure); independent variables (resilience using the Connor-Davidson resilience scale and sexual identity), and confounding factors (age and sex). Associations between dependent and independent variables were determined using multivariable logistic regression analyses after controlling for confounders.ResultsOf the 1419 adolescent participants, 593 (42%) were sexual minority individuals, 533 (37.6%) had high depressive symptoms, 381 (26.8%) had high anxiety symptoms, 177 (12.5%) had problematic alcohol use and 389 (27.4%) used multiple psychoactive substances. Resilience was significantly associated with lower odds of anxiety (AOR:0.96, 95% CI: 0.94–0.97, p < 0.001) and depressive (AOR:0.94, 95% CI: 0.92–0.96, p < 0.001) symptoms, problematic alcohol use (AOR:0.97, 95% CI: 0.95–0.99, p = 0.002), and multiple psychoactive substance use (AOR:0.95, 95% CI: 0.93–0.96, p < 0.001). Sexual minority adolescents had significantly higher odds of anxiety (AOR:4.14, 95% CI: 3.16–5.40, p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (AOR:4.79; 95% CI: 3.73–6.15, p < 0.001), problematic alcohol use (AOR:2.48, 95% CI: 1.76–3.49, p < 0.001), and multiple psychoactive substance use (AOR:5.69, 95% CI: 4.34–7.47, p < 0.001).ConclusionSexual minority adolescents and adolescents with low resilience have a higher need for interventions to reduce the risk of anxiety, depression, and the use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances.

Everyone experiences the natural ebb and flow of task-unrelated thoughts. Given how common the fluctuations in these thoughts are, surprisingly, we know very little about how they shape individuals’ responses to alcohol use. Here, we investigated if mind wandering is associated with a risk of developing problematic alcohol use. We undertook an online survey among the general population in China (N = 1123) and Germany (N = 1018) from December 2021 to February 2022 and examined the subjective experience of mind wandering and problematic alcohol use through the Mind Wandering Questionnaire (MWQ) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). We compared mind wandering and problematic alcohol use between two countries and investigated the association between MWQ scores with AUDIT scores. We found higher scores on the MWQ and a high percentage of problematic alcohol use (i.e., AUDIT score ≥ 8) in Germany (22.5%) as compared to in China (14.5%). Higher self-reported mind wandering was associated with higher AUDIT scores. AUDIT scores were increased mostly in male, elder, and high-mind wandering people. Our findings highlight that mind wandering and problematic alcohol use enhanced in Germany as compared to in China. Our study sheds light on the relationship between mind wandering and problematic alcohol use that may help to further investigate causal effects of interventions.

ObjectivesBariatric surgery is an effective weight loss tool, but an under-communicated side effect may include the increased risk for alcohol problems. Few studies have examined contributors towards alcohol problems following surgery using a qualitative approach. Therefore, the current study aimed to generate insight informed by participants with problematic alcohol use following bariatric surgery, in comparison with participants without.MethodsParticipants (14; females, n = 9; males, n = 5) completed semi-structured interviews using questions relating to alcohol use, relationship to food, support and surgical experiences. Thematic analysis was conducted to provide insight into the factors which influenced drinking behaviours that participants engaged in following bariatric surgery, and motivations for drinking or limiting alcohol.ResultsFive core themes were identified between both participants with and without problematic alcohol use: (1) drinking motivations, (2) self-image, (3) impact of restriction on eating behaviour, (4) support needs and (5) surgical preparedness. A sixth core theme (“resilience”) was identified specifically amongst participants without problematic alcohol use. Divergent experiences, cognitions and behaviours formed sub-themes within the five core themes and highlighted the differences between participants with and without problematic alcohol use within the core themes.ConclusionThis study is the first to qualitatively assess themes relating to the development of problematic alcohol use after bariatric surgery while additionally using a comparison group without problematic alcohol use. The findings highlight key features which contribute to problematic alcohol use, as well as experiences and cognitions that may be helpful in preventing this phenomenon in bariatric populations.

A longitudinal test of problematic alcohol use and binge eating among college women: The moderating role of shame